Hybrid Curse
by Alvara19
Summary: Nero is sick and tired of Dante showing him up. During an odd mission, a demon burns a strangely shaped mark on his wrist after hearing them fight. What does this aching mark mean? And why does he suddenly feel weaker and out of control? DantexNero Yaoi
1. Spider Webs and Burned Wrists

Disclaimer: Sadly, I do not own any of the devil may cry characters in this fiction, if I did, Kyrie would have died in the first ten minutes of the game and Dante and Nero would be together...and Vergil would be shirtless in the third game...and Arkham would wear a frilly princess dress for my entertainment.

Rated Mature for Violence, Possible Incest, Language, Angst, Hurting Nero, Hot Man Sex in later Chapters, and other things I'm still thinking up.

I missed hurting Nero. ^-^' And I'm writing this like crazy. Don't be surprised if I have another chapter up tonight.

--

Chapter One: Spider Webs and Burning Wrists

"Hurry up, kid!" Dante called out across the grand hall of the demon infested manor. He slashed through an onslaught of lesser demons as he worked his way towards the door on the other side of the large room. The strange creatures that surrounded him were different than any demon the hunter had come across in other missions. The oddly purple-black colored beings seemed to camouflage themselves into the floor and walls of the room when they first arrived. The only way Dante knew they were there was when one leapt onto his arm and started drilling into his skin.

Nero ignored the elder slayers remark, choosing to focus on the parasites attempting to glue themselves to his body permanently. He could not use his revolver, the blue rose, with the demons leaping at him from close rage but he could barely protect himself from the foot long devils with his sword and devil bringer. The young demon hunter was growing tired quickly and he started to lag behind as Dante continued to carve his way across the room. It pissed him off sometimes, how the elder could always go through any situation easily when Nero struggled to keep up.

Slowly the demons started to disappear, layers of their blood and flesh covering parts of the marble tile flooring. The younger man looked up from the last few demons he was fighting to see that the older hunter was already at the door on the other side. He sliced through the devils in front of him in frustration. Dante had beat him once again, just like all the other missions Nero had tagged along on. He walked across the hall, wishing that more than one demon had hurt the elder.

"This should be where the demon controlling the parasites is, according to the guy who called us. You ready, kid?" The more experienced slayer asked as he turned to face the other man.

"Yeah, old man, just try to keep up." Nero muttered, still annoyed at the older hunter. He pushed open the door and walked through it with the elder close behind him.

The room before them was slightly smaller than the hall. It's walls were covered in purple and gray spider webs, each one glowing with demonic power. An odd throne was placed in front of a large stain glass window, the chairs arms and back carved into claw like forms. The window did not have any forms of creatures inside it but the colors of the glass shone a somewhat rainbow color. There was no sign of any demons besides the webs.

"Whoever lives here sure knows how to decorate." Dante said sarcastically as he looked over the weird decor. "I wonder where the demon is." He looked around the room again before turning to his partner, who seemed to be glaring at his back as if it would catch fire if he stared hard enough. "You ok? Or did those demons manage to stab you in the head?"

"Piss off."

"Come on, kid. So you got hit by those things more than I did, it's fine. Not everyone has as much experience as I do." The elder joked, pretending to be arrogant and trying to get the other to lighten up. It did not work. Nero glared at him harder before walking past the older man and towards the throne but not before he socked Dante right in the stomach. "You try to make someone laugh but instead, you get punched in the gut." The elder choked out, holding his stomach as the pain subsided.

Nero ignored the older slayer again, choosing to investigate the strange cobwebs around the chair and window. _I wonder why these are here. _He thought, reaching out with his devil bringer to touch one of the purple threads. It was icy cold and pulsated power that made the young man swallow nervously. Whatever had been in there had been strong.

"Hey, old man, I think we should-" Nero turned around only to see that the room was completely empty. "Dante?"

Suddenly, the thread that he was holding coiled around his wrist and drew him nearer to the web. Nero pulled away from the web only to have the web beside him grab his human wrist. He yelled in pain as the thread burned into the flesh on his left arm. A hand wrapped around the top of his arm, making the young devil slayer struggle to get whatever it was off of him. He felt himself yanked away from the web and thrown to the floor.

"You have to be more careful, kid." Nero supported himself on his elbows and looked up to see Dante pulling the threads off of his own wrists. "Didn't you feel the energy coming off of that thing or did you think the thickness in the air was natural?" The elder man said, angry that the other would make a mistake of touching something without knowing if it would kill him or not.

"Whatever." Nero muttered as he stood up and brushed himself off. "I guess there is no demon in here after all. It would have come out by now."

"It already has."

"What?" Nero asked as he saw Dante staring at the large group of webs.

"The webs are the demon. Their the ones controlling the others." The elder explained. "After you touched them, you attacked me. At first, I thought that you were just mad at me, but there were threads attached to you. It was controlling you." Nero walked closer to the webs, standing next to Dante.

"So how do we get rid of it if we can't touch it?" He asked, rubbing his still burning left wrist. This caught the others attention.

"You alright, Nero?" He said, actually using the younger man name in order to get an honest answer in return.

"Yeah. I'm fine. The stupid thing just burned my wrist. It's nothing serious." The young ex-order member pulled his wrist away when Dante moved to check it. "I can handle it. Now, let's fine out how to get rid of this thing." Dante could tell that Nero was hiding his wrist for some reason but choose to wait until the mission was over to question him about it.

The older man turned to the large glittering spider webs, wondering if the strings of the demonic world would hold up to bullets. Then the fiery energy dancing across the threads caught his attention. He smirked as he noticed the webs gaining energy from the stain glass behind them. _No wonder the glass looks so out of place. _He thought as he pulled Ebony and Ivory from their holsters. The glass shattered before Dante could pull the triggers, causing him to raise an eyebrow in confusion.

"Who's slow now, old man?" Nero said, smirking in victory as he holstered the Blue Rose. The fact that he was using his devil bringer drawing the other man's attention. "I guess old age is catching up to you." The younger hunter walked back towards the grand hall, happy that he had gained advantage of the elder slayer.

Dante hummed as he put his twin guns away. _That was too easy...Something's not right._

--

Nero hid his human arm from him the entire ride back to the office, he did not even hide his devil bringer that well when he needed to. The older devil hunter began to actually worry that the kid had gotten seriously hurt. He sat behind the wheel of his red car, trying to keep his eyes on the road instead of peeking to see the younger hunter's wrist.

"Hey, kid." He said, getting no response. Dante glanced over at him to see if he had fallen asleep only to see the other glaring out the window, his human arm curled up to his waist tightly. "How's your ar-?"

"It's fine, Dante. Watch the road." Nero snapped as he curled his arm tighter to himself. He could handle himself and he did not need the elder slayer babying him because of a small, still burning, injury.

Dante sighed before deciding to drop the subject. He was not going to get anywhere if he pissed the young man off even more. If the other kept hiding his wrist tomorrow though, the elder would be forced to check what it was. If Nero liked it or not.

--


	2. Breaking and Entering

Disclaimer: Sadly, I do not own any of the devil may cry characters in this fiction, if I did, Kyrie would have died in the first ten minutes of the game and Dante and Nero would be together...and Vergil would be shirtless in the third game...and Arkham would wear a frilly princess dress for my entertainment.

Rated Mature for Violence, Possible Incest, Language, Angst, Hurting Nero, Hot Man Sex in later Chapters, and other things I'm still thinking up.

--

Chapter Two: Breaking and Entering

The younger male nearly bolted into the office when Dante slowed to park his car. The heavy wooden doors slammed shut behind him, making the older hunter even more worried. Sure, he had pressed a few buttons before and after the ex-order member got hurt but was he really that mad at him. Normally, the younger devil slayer would just punch him in the stomach then move on but today he was acting like he had killed his sister/ex-girlfriend.

"Kid's probably just pmsing." Dante muttered the joke to himself but found no humor in the boy's attitude. "He better not just be acting to get me back for eariler today."

--

Nero waited a few minutes for the other hunter to enter the Devil May Cry office and head into the kitchen before he slipped into the elder's bedroom. He just hoped what was on his wrist was not what he thought it was.

The room was dirty, as usual for the older man. Clothes were piled on the floor as well as one or two weapons. The king sized bed against the wall was unmade with the pillows randomly placed on top of the sheets. The dresser, Nero's objective, was the only thing not falling apart inside the room. Each of it's drawers were actually closed with only one pair of the older slayer's boxers hanging off their handles.

The young hunter moved across the room carefully, hoping that he would not move anything out of it's disorganized place. The last thing he wanted was for Dante to know he was snooping inside his room. It had been the one place Nero had sworn to never go in, he had to or else the elder would not allow him to move in. Now, he had broken that vow in order to find out what the mark on his wrist meant.

Finally, he made it to the dresser without moving any clothing and other somewhat slimy things he had stepped on. The young man slowly opened the top drawer only to jump as he saw a rotting skull sitting comfortably inside it. Sometimes he doubted the sanity of the man he was living with. He grimaced at the skull and smell as he looked around it for the item he was seeking. Finding nothing but a small collection of demon skulls and bones, he closed the drawer. Nero just hoped that the top drawer was the most disturbing.

The next drawer was filled with sex toys and bondage gear, making the young hunter nervous about opening the next few drawers. He swore if he saw a skull with a gag in it's mouth in one of the drawers, he would run out of the room and call a real estate agent.

Nero sighed in relief when he found the bottom full of books. He quickly looked through them, passing books like 'The Legend of Sparda', 'How to Polish Your Guns Without Leaving Streaks', 'The Demon World and the Monsters Within It', 'Cooking for Idiots', and 'How to Close Deep Wounds'. He almost wanted to laugh at how the cooking book was still in it's packaging. _Lady must have bought it for him._

"There you are. I knew that old man would have something like this." Nero smirked as he pulled out a black leather bound book. He blew the dust off the cover so he could read the yellow text. "'Demonic Curses'. Hopefully, this will tell what I have." He closed the drawer and moved to sit on Dante's creaky bed. Flipping open the book, Nero looked at his wrist and turned through the drawings of marked curses.

A few minutes passed and he was beginning to lose hope. None of the pictures matched the curled heart-like design with wings that almost resembled two scythes and only two curses were accompanied by the mark burning. He turned to the very last page and sighed in relief as he read the passage.

_Hybrid Curses_

_The combination of two or more curses formed together. These type of curses tend to follow the two curses effects as well as mix the design of two marks if both possess one. Hybrid demonic curses are rare in the fact that many of them require the demon who cast the spell's life. Several of these also require direct contact with the victim._

"No wonder why that demon was so easy to kill." Nero said, remembering that the glass had shattered after one shot. He looked back at the page and felt his heart drop at the last line.

_No counter measures for Hybrid Curses have been found to this date._

"Fuck..." He muttered as he turned back to the two curses that possessed a burning mark. The first was a sharply drawn skull and the second matched the small curved heart on his wrist.

_Sensus Curse_

_The Sensus curse is often a very curable curse for some people. Often cast on those who are cold and hide their feelings, this curse forces all emotions to be at the most extreme level. Contentment turns to extreme Happiness. Disappointment to Depression. Dislike to Hate and Vengeance. Nervousness to Hysterical Fear. Friendship to Lust and Love-_

"What?!" Nero almost screamed at the book. Suddenly, he felt like calling that real estate agent again. Part of the curse that was forced upon him was going to make him love Dante?! "Like hell!" He huffed before reading the rest of the curses description.

_When the victim of the Sensus curse is alone, the curse will not effect them. When the victim is around others, especially those who he or she hides their emotions from the most, the curses effects are at their fullest. To end the Sensus, the victim must show their true feelings to those around them and not hide their emotions._

"Great...If the demon who did this to me wasn't dead already, I'd kill him." The young man breathed angrily. "Now, what the hell is the other mark?" He said, turning through many pages before arriving at a page with an illustration of scythe wings. His face paled.

_Letum Curse_

_The death curse. Those placed under this curse will have their soul painfully removed from their body within a time limit set by the demon who cast the curse. The number of blades on the scythe wings display how many days the victim has to live. The only way to end the Letum is to have someone close to the victim willingly sacrifice themselves or for the cursed victim to lose their soul._

"Now, I'm really fucked..." Nero said before lifting his wrist and counting the blades. "Four. Four days till this 'painful death'." He smirked as if he did not believe it but inside, he felt like he was going to vomit. Demonic curses were very real and he knew it.

Suddenly, the door opened. Nero jumped, remembering that he was not allowed in Dante's room. Unable to hide or get through the window quick enough, he hid the book behind his back with his human hand. The older demon slayer opened the door fully and raised an eyebrow at the guilty looking Nero standing in front of his bed.

"I thought you agreed not to go in here." He said, feeling a bit ticked that the other had snuck into his room without any permission. The fact that the younger hunter was hiding something behind his back grabbed his attention. "What do you have there, kid?" The other man looked scared as if he had done something horrible.

"N-nothing." Nero could not help his nervousness of being caught turning into an uncontrollable fear. _Damn Sensus curse... _He thought as he hid the book behind his back more. Dante narrowed his eyes a bit and frowned. Clearly, he had struck the older man's last nerve.

"Seriously, kid, what's wrong with you today? First, you act like I killed your best friend and then you sneak into my room, which you agreed never to enter. And now, your hiding something of mine behind you." Dante walked quickly across the room and grabbed Nero's human arm, trying to pull it away from the other slayer's back.

"Dante! Don't!" The younger man yelled as he pulled his arm tighter to himself. The elder would be pissed if he found out about the Hybrid curse and no doubt ban Nero from going on any future missions. If he survived it...

"You're really starting to piss me off-" Dante managed to rip the younger devil slayer's arm away from his body by his wrist and stopped yelling suddenly as the black leather book fell to the floor. No matter how much Nero begged it not to, the book landed so the title was in plain view. "'Demonic Curses'?" The older man raised an eyebrow as he read the book's name. Nero swallowed nervously as his mind raced to find any excuse that the other would buy.

"I-I wanted to know how you survived that blood curse. The one you had a few weeks ago. It looked bad and I never saw how you got over it." He lied, feeling even more nervous as Dante eyed him. The younger slayer knew that the Sensus would show his fear and just hoped that the elder would not look under the hand holding his wrist tightly.

"With curses like that, all you need to do is kill the demon who cast it. I doubt you snuck into my room just to learn that, kid." The older hunter said calmly, somewhat glad that the young man had not found something he should not have.

"I'm going to order dinner." Nero said, wanting to get away from the elder before the real reason he had that book was revealed. He walked to the door and couldn't help but look over his shoulder to mess with the other. "And Dante, you might want to clean out the top drawer of your dresser. I've heard that the smell of rotting flesh is a turn off for women." With that cocky remark, he left, leaving a seething Dante behind.


	3. Bad News and Worse News

Disclaimer: Sadly, I do not own any of the devil may cry characters in this fiction, if I did, Kyrie would have died in the first ten minutes of the game and Dante and Nero would be together...and Vergil would be shirtless in the third game...and Arkham would wear a frilly princess dress for my entertainment.

Rated Mature for Violence, Possible Incest, Language, Angst, Hurting Nero, Hot Man Sex in later Chapters, and other things I'm still thinking up.

I am positively evil towards Nero. I hope he will forgive me~! ^-^'

--

Chapter Three: Bad News and Worse News

Nero shoved on a long sleeved shirt before he made his way down to the office. He hoped that the long sleeves would provide better protection from the older man. The young devil hunter knew that Dante would eventually find out, possibly when Nero was nothing but a corpse. For now, he did not want what could possibly be his last days to be filled with the elder yelling at him how stupid it was to touch something without knowing what it would do. Nero would not admit it out loud, but he did have a habit of touching things when he should not. It had happened with the Evil Legacy, the Rusalka Corpse, the Sephirothic Fruit, the Key of Cronus, and many other things that his devil bringer absorbed without his permission. It really pissed him off sometimes and now, his habit of touching things was going to literally get him killed.

He sighed lightly and grabbed the phone off it's receiver, dialing the number for Pizza One. Hopefully, if he ordered Dante's favorite pizza, he would stop asking about his arm. Nero ordered quickly and thanked the man on the other line for delivering it after hours. When he moved to put the phone back on the receiver, he quickly dropped it and grabbed him human wrist. Wincing, he removed his hand to see that the mark had burned through the cloth of the shirt. It had left the same shape in the cloth and it was even more noticeable than the mark alone. Nero looked around to make sure Dante was still in his room before running to his own room and pulling on a long sleeved hoodie with his normal brown wrist band. He had to keep it concealed long enough to eat dinner and not alert the elder.

--

The older hunter came down stairs when he heard Nero thanking someone. He felt a bit better at the thought of eating some pizza, even if the younger man ordered olives again. Ironically, his least favorite topping was the other hunter's favorite.

He sat behind his desk and opened a pizza box that Nero pushed in front of him. The elder raised an eyebrow when he found Italian ham and garlic potato, his favorite pizza after a frustrating job or a lazy day. If he was not sure that the kid was hiding something before, he was now. Dante looked up at Nero who was sitting on the front edge of his desk, eating a slice of his own pizza as if everything was normal. He was using his devil bringer again and his human arm was wrapped up under the thick fabric of the hoodie he had put on.

"Hey, kid. Can you pass me a slice of yours? I think you've forced me to like olives now." Dante said as he ate the end of one of his slices. Nero picked up a slice of his pizza, unknowingly using his left hand. He handed it to the older man just as a small trickle of ash slid out of his sleeve. The elder caught this and grabbed the younger hunter's wrist. He tried to pull off the sleeve but the young man punched him with his devil bringer, causing him to let go out of surprise.

"What's wrong with you?!" Nero yelled, pulling the sleeve completely over his left arm and standing up from the desk.

"What's wrong with me?! Your the one who's covering up your arm like it has the damn plague!" The elder yelled back, standing up as well.

"Well, I wouldn't have to hide it if you minded your own fucking business!"

"You are my business, Nero!" The younger man felt himself blush when he did not want to. If he had not been cursed with Sensus then he would have kept yelling, but now, he felt something odd swell in his chest at the possessiveness Dante was showing. _Crap..._ He thought as he turned to go up the stairs and to his room. He could not even make it to the foot of the stairs as the older hunter tackled him to the floor.

"Dante! Get the hell off me!" Nero screamed as the emotions inside him started going haywire. He felt angry, confused, nervous, and a few emotions he refused to identify to himself. Before he knew it, tears started rolling down his cheeks. The younger man was losing control. He knew it was a matter of seconds before Dante started to think he should go to the hospital or a psycho ward.

"Nero?" Dante asked, worried that he might have hurt the other man as he saw tears. "What's wrong?"

"J-just get off me." Nero choked before biting his lip in pain. His arm felt like it was on fire and he could not get to it when the other was pinning his arms under his knees. The older demon slayer slid off of him so he was sitting next to him on the floor. The younger hunter grabbed the smoking sleeve on his human arm and ripped it back. Blood dripped down his wrist as the burned heart and wings sunk deeper into his skin. "Damn it."

--

"Why didn't you tell me about this?" Dante muttered as he cleaned the blood off the now glowing red mark. He had taken the marked man to his room and was now trying to stop the bleeding as they sat on top of Nero's bed. He had finally found out what the younger man was hiding from him and he wished that he had not. The kid had been Hybrid cursed and with a powerful combination of curses too.

"I didn't want you to freak out or yell at me for it. It's not a big deal." The older devil hunter grabbed the front of his hoodie and pulled him close enough that their noses were touching.

"Of course it's a big deal, idiot! The Letum curse is going to kill you if we don't stop it and with the Sensus curse, it will slowly kill you instead of giving you time. You won't have four days of saying goodbye, kid. You'll have four days of suffering." Dante could see the color drain from the ex-order members face as what was happening slowly hit him. Nero felt sick and he knew that he had to ask it.

"There's no way to stop this, is there?" When the older man would not look him in the eyes, he felt like he should run to the bathroom but he was too afraid that he would throw up his own blood. After a moment of silence, Dante stood up.

"I should go. We need to find a way to stop this before it gets any worse. Hopefully I can get a hold of a few people that know how to get around this." He said, moving towards the door but he stopped when he felt an arm grab his.

"Wait, Dante." Nero muttered, feeling like such a woman when he wanted to ask the older hunter to stay. He really did not want to be alone but a part of his pride refused to be swallowed. "Never mind." He said, letting go and turning his head away from the elder. The younger man was surprised when Dante placed a hand on his shoulder, drawing him into his arms for a second.

"It'll be alright, kid. You can trust me." The other man said, pulling away from the hug and leaving the room. Nero blushed deeply, denying that he was but the dark red on his cheeks was not hard to miss. When he felt the hand on his shoulder, he had thought the elder was going to do something more than just hug him and he felt an annoying disappointment that nothing else happened.

"Damn these stupid curses." The young slayer whispered as he curled up on his bed, wishing that it was Dante instead.

--

Dante flipped through the numbers of experts of the demon world. Thanks to Trish's idea of organizing clients and important documents in his desk drawers, the phone numbers were easy to find. He called the first number he found and the man said that there was nothing he could do. It was the same with the other seventeen numbers that he had found. The devil hunter had even called a few people who claimed to be psychics but got no where after he explained the curses. He hated to admit it, but the only way to get anywhere was for him to consult with an actual demon that used the curses.

Dante sighed as he sat behind his desk, pinching the bridge of his nose in frustration. How could he find a demon like that who would help him? Practically every demon in the underworld was out to kill him and now, he needed help from one.

--


	4. Missions and Chances

Disclaimer: Sadly, I do not own any of the devil may cry characters in this fiction, if I did, Kyrie would have died in the first ten minutes of the game and Dante and Nero would be together...and Vergil would be shirtless in the third game...and Arkham would wear a frilly princess dress for my entertainment.

Rated Mature for Violence, Possible Incest, Language, Angst, Hurting Nero, Hot Man Sex in later Chapters, and other things I'm still thinking up.

I apologize for the really late update. All of my DMC 4 data was erased so I've been trying to gain it all back. It sucked because I had over 126 hours of game play. Anyway, enjoy~!

--

Chapter Four: Missions and Chances

The phone rang and Dante answered it quickly, hoping that one of the many people he called had found a way to rescind the curse. Unfortunately, it was just a frantic customer that was nearly begging him to come to their town and stop a few demons that were kidnapping and killing young men and women. Dante knew that he should take it, but with the younger hunter being cursed, he did not want to take a chance with leaving him alone.

"Sorry, miss. I can't right now. But I might be able to come there in a few days."

"Please! Please! There will be no one left by that time!" The woman on the phone nearly screeched into the phone, making Dante pull it away from his ear. Once the young woman stopped he placed it back to his ear.

"I'm sorry but even if I could, I don't have anyone here who is the age of the people who are going missing." The woman mentioned seeing Nero in the town when they were on a mission together a few months back. The elder had hoped he could manage to keep Nero from the conversation, it only reminded him of his nearly and most likely impossible mission to find a demon to help him. "He's not in the position to go out on-"

"Tell them I'll be there." Dante stopped when he heard the young voice and the sound of metal and denim. He turned to see Nero dressed for a mission, a heavy amount of gaze wrapped around his still bleeding curse mark.

"Kid, you're not going. It's bad enough that we only have four days to find a way to get rid of that curse. I don't need you collapsing and getting yourself killed on a job." The elder said, moving the phone away from him as he spoke.

"Trust me, old man, I won't. Besides, I doubt we'll be able to get rid of this thing. The least I can do is make myself useful while I can." The ex-order member said as if it was nothing. Dante wanted to punch Nero for giving in without even trying and before he could stop himself, he did. Nero grabbed his cheek as a small amount of blood dripped down the corner of his lips.

"I'm not going to let you die, Nero." The older male growled. "I'm going to get rid of this thing even if it kills me." Nero felt his cheeks heat up before the meaning of the other hunter's word hit him. The elder was willing to go that far for a punk like him? He shook his head mentally as he felt his emotions overwhelm him again.

"Don't get carried away, old man." The younger man muttered as he turned his head away. When the other did not respond, he walked towards the heavy wooden door. "I-I should get to that town before anyone else gets hurt." He was about to open the door before he heard Dante hang up the phone.

"If you're going to insist on going, then I have no choice but to go too." The more experienced slayer said, grabbing his sword and twin guns.

--

When they arrived, the whole town seemed empty. Nothing moved and even the wind had stilled in the small rural collection of buildings. Dante twisted the key in the ignition and the sound of his car's engine died out, revealing how quiet the area really was. He raised an eyebrow and slowly got out of the car, listening for any sound of birds or people.

"You sure this is the right place, old man? It looks abandoned to me." Nero muttered as he climbed out of the red car, trying to ignore any pain coming from his left wrist. "Dante?" He turned to see the elder already walking into the town without him. "Could have at least waited for me."

Nero ran after him but stopped suddenly when he felt a sharp pain twist in his ankle. He sat down and leaned on the siding of a small house. Blood was soaking through the thick fabric of his right boot and there was no sign of damage to it. He glanced down the rode to see that Dante was too far away to notice he had stopped following him. Nero quickly unbuckled the boot and hissed as it brushed against his ankle when he took it off. It looked perfectly normal except for the blood seeping out of a large cut directly under his ankle.

"Damn it. I can't show Dante this." The younger man tore off a small amount of the gaze around his wrist and wrapped it tightly around his ankle. He felt nervous as the pain in his ankle burned exactly like his cursed wrist. Ignoring it, he pulled back on his boot and stood before going to seek the older man.

--

Dante walked through the town quickly, searching the area for the demonic presence he had felt when he arrived. It had been the same presence as the one at the manor where Nero had been cursed. This was possibly his only chance to find another demon that used curses and he still had no clue how to get them to help him. Sometimes, being one of the sons of a demon that was hated by everyone in the underworld was a pain. Dante had no choice but to offer the demon something it could not resist, whatever that may be.

The devil hunter stopped as he finally realized he only heard one set of footsteps. He looked behind his shoulder to see that the younger man that was following him was gone. The slayer wanted to punch himself for forgetting to watch over the other. It would be useless to bargain with the demon if Nero was dead already. Dante pushed away the thought of the young hunter's race against time and hoped that he had just gotten distracted and not attacked by any devils. He turned around and started heading back, knowing that if he went ahead the other man would get himself into trouble. The older hunter was beginning to think that bad luck was attracted to the young ex-order member. He considered it confirmed when he remembered that the client on the phone had said that the demon would go after men and woman around Nero's age.

--

Nero limped slightly as his right ankle refused to support his weight. It burned and soon he could feel the blood soaking through the gaze and fabric of his boot again. When he noticed Dante down the street walking towards him, the young slayer's stomach twisted. There was no way the elder would miss the stains on his boot and the bloody footprints behind him. He opened his mouth to call out to the older man but couldn't as he felt something ram into his right side, nearly breaking his ribs.

Dante smiled as he noticed the kid, glad that nothing had happened to him. The smile dropped from his face as he saw a black blur slam into Nero, the young man sliding across the pavement. A large demon with black scales growled loudly as it stood in the middle of the road. It's body was skeletal and canine like except for the greenish glow burning across it's flesh. The demon did not have a head, which would have been comical to Dante if the younger demon slayer was not in danger.

"Hey, kid! Are you alright?" The older hunter shouted as he drew Rebellion from his back, watching the younger man struggle to get up from the ground. He ran towards the dog like demon, ready to battle the large devil. He would have to put his search for the main demon on hold until he could get rid of it's minions.

"I'm fine, old man." Nero muttered, knowing the elder could not hear him. He was lying and he knew it. The gaze on his wrist was catching on fire and the young punk could feel the mark burying itself deeper into his flesh. He panted slightly as he stood up, ignoring any pain that he felt. He drew the Blue Rose from it's holster and fired at the monster growling at him. The demon rushed towards him but was blocked by Dante sprinting in front of it and slashing his sword through one of it's legs. The devil growled as the green glow traveled down it's body and replaced the now missing leg.

"Get out of here, Nero." Dante shouted over his shoulder. The ex-order member glared at his back, knowing that the older hunter thought he was just going to get in the way.

"In your dreams, idiot." Nero pulled his customized sword of his back, refusing to stand back because of a stupid curse.

--


	5. Pride and Wounds

Disclaimer: Sadly, I do not own any of the devil may cry characters in this fiction, if I did, Kyrie would have died in the first ten minutes of the game and Dante and Nero would be together...and Vergil would be shirtless in the third game...and Arkham would wear a frilly princess dress for my entertainment.

Rated Mature for Violence, Possible Incest, Language, Angst, Hurting Nero, Hot Man Sex in later Chapters, and other things I'm still thinking up.

--

Chapter Five: Pride and Wounds

Nero revved his sword's handle, pouring gasoline down it's blade before igniting it. He brushed past the older devil hunter who was standing in front of him protectively. There was no way he was going to let Dante show him up again. The younger man was going to show him that he was still a worthy opponent for any demon, or half demon, even when he was injured.

Dante was staring at the large canine like demon when he felt a sudden rush of air past him. He looked down to see that Nero was running straight towards it, gritting his teeth in anger. Or was it pain? It was not hard to notice that the other hunter was avoiding putting weight on his right leg even as he moved to attack the large devil in front of them. Dante pushed away the thought as he ran after Nero, knowing that the other slayer was not going to listen to him if he told him to stand back again.

The great demon in front of them could sense they were coming towards it and dug it's claws into the ground. Before the two hunters could catch onto what it was doing, the beast whipped around. The cement beneath it flew into the air, creating a thick cloud of dust and dirt. Dante managed to role out of the way of a large chunk of the road slid towards him. He looked around to see no sign of the younger hunter, swearing under his breath. This was not the time to lose sight of him, especially when he was injured. The sound of fighting and Nero's familiar voice echoed from his right. The kid had managed to get to the demon and sounded like he was actually beating the monster. Still, Dante was worried. He quickly brushed off the dust on his coat before running towards the other man's voice. To Dante's relief the grayish cloud around him was clearing and soon he could see the outline of his partner and the glowing demon. Nero was standing on top of the devil's back, slamming the edge of the Red Queen into the stump of it's neck. The demon howled and the glow inside it formed long ropes that crawled up it's back to where the young devil slayer was standing.

"Kid!" Dante shouted as he got close enough to see the demon's planned attack.

Nero turned around quickly with his revolver in his human hand, shooting the tendrils of demonic power. His chest was heaving as he grasped the handle of his sword as if for dear life. The fight was exhausting him more than he thought it would. He felt his energy dissipate as his legs threatened to give out on him. Before the green glow of the creature could get any closer to him, he twisted his demonic wrist and watched the fire dance down the blade and into the devil's neck. The demon howled into the air in pain as the green energy flew at Nero, taking advantage of his distraction. It slammed into his back, forcing him to fall of it's back. Nero suddenly regretted his tight grip on the handle of the Red Queen as it forced him to flip sharply and slam into the stone hard neck of the demon. The young hunter was sure that if he had been holding onto the handle with his human arm, he would have ripped the limb clean off. He was dangling from his sword that was still stuck in the demon's hard skeletal neck, not daring to let go from the height. Dante was standing below, sword drawn as he was debating whether to attack the demon or stay there in case Nero fell. The dangling man grabbed onto his sword with both of his hands, trying to get back on the devil's back to continue their fight. Suddenly, he felt weightless before stopping sharply. The ex-order member looked up to see that the bone of the neck was not as strong as he thought.

"Shit..." Nero managed to say before the sword's blade cleaved through the demon's neck, bringing him down with it. He let go of the handle in mid fall, knowing that either way he was going to collide with the torn up concrete. He knew that the curse had effected his demonic healing and knew that this was going to do more than just hurt him.

When he didn't feel the pain of hitting the rough ground, he opened his eyes. Red leather greeted him as he realized that Dante had caught him. For once, Nero was glad the elder had stepped in during one of his battles.

The canine demon fell to the ground, growling and whining in pain from it's deep injury. It stumbled to get onto it's feet before it bounded down the street, fleeing before it could be killed. The younger slayer sighed in relief as he relaxed, noticing how much his body ached. He struggled to get away from Dante once he noticed that he was laying bridal style in the man's arms and how humiliating it was to be in such a position. When he was finally put down, he felt something smack into the back of his head.

"Ow! What the-?!" He turned around to see the older half demon glaring angrily at him. "What was that for? Didn't anyone ever tell you not to hit an injured person?!" Dante reached out his arms again and Nero closed his eyes, expecting the elder to hit him again for being such a dumbass and running into battle he could have easily lost. Instead, he felt the devil hunter wrap his arms around him and pull him close to his chest.

"You worried me there, kid. Don't do that again." Dante nuzzled the snow white hair of the younger slayer, not caring how the hug seemed out of place in a 'friendship'. He felt the other man tense in his grasp but could not release his hold on him. Nero was going to make him worry to death if he did not get the point across that the ex-order member did not have to rush into every battle to prove his was just as strong as him.

Nero could feel his cheeks heat up as a blush spread across his face. Thoughts that he knew were not his raced through his mind as his body refused to push the older devil slayer away. He stood there for a moment, refusing to let himself hug the elder back even though a small part of him wished to.

Dante pulled away as he remembered that the large demon had most likely gone to inform it's master that they were here. When he looked down at Nero, he could not believe how red he was from just a simple hug. The older man knew that the Sensus curse would make it impossible for the younger devil hunter to hide his emotions but not even that curse could make him act so...adorable.

"We should get going. Who knows when that demon's mom is going to show up and talk to us about beating up her kid." The elder said as he moved away from the silent blushing man. He turned and headed down the street only to stop a few feet away when he noticed Nero was not following him again. "You alright, kid?" The older slayer looked over his shoulder to see the other man still standing where he had put him down.

"I...can't move my leg." Nero strained out as pain shot up his spine from trying to move a single step.

Dante glanced down at the young man's feet to see blood soaking through his right boot. He sighed softly as he walked over to the ex-order member and carefully picked him up. The young part devil still attempted to struggle from being held bridal style in the other man's arms but soon gave in, too exhausted from battling with a wounded and burning ankle and wrist.

"It burns like the curse mark." The younger hunter muttered against Dante's leather clad chest. An odd calm came over him from being held by the older man though he denied it, telling himself it was just because he was tired. Nero felt the elder's grip on him tighten slightly and he got the feeling that Dante knew something he did not.

--


	6. Dark Skies and Conditions

Disclaimer: Sadly, I do not own any of the devil may cry characters in this fiction, if I did, Kyrie would have died in the first ten minutes of the game and Dante and Nero would be together...and Vergil would be shirtless in the third game...and Arkham would wear a frilly princess dress for my entertainment.

Rated Mature for Violence, Possible Incest, Language, Angst, Hurting Nero, Hot Man Sex in later Chapters, and other things I'm still thinking up.

--

Chapter Six: Dark Skies and Conditions

The sun was getting lower in the sky, signaling that it was close to dusk. A few lights that were intact in the city glowed warmly as the sun's own light started to fade. Dante could feel Nero's breathing slow, looking down to see the younger man had past out. He smiled at how cute the other looked when he was sleeping. The kid's defenses were down and a soft calm slowly crawled across his features, making the elder want to bury his face into Nero's hair from how cute he was. He could even go as far as to say he wanted to kiss the young slayer in his arms.

The half demon pushed away the thoughts as he remembered the reason he had come. He could think about the younger hunter later but for now, he had to find the main demon. Dante still had no clue as to what he was going to offer the demon in the return for Nero's life. At this point, he was willing to trade anything for him. The elder had always felt an odd sort of protection over the other that could possibly stemmed from him looking and acting so much like his younger self. It could have been a bit narcissistic of him to like the younger slayer purely because he was similar to him. But now, when Nero's life was in danger, it felt strangely stronger than just 'friends' and Dante could not deny that he had thought of kissing him several times in just the past few minutes.

He shook off his repeating thoughts of the man in his arms as the feeling of a demon nearby struck him. They were in the center of the town now, a small intersection of roads with a few abandoned vendor carts filled with various items. It was weird how everything in the area seemed like there were people dwelling there just minutes ago. The comforting feeling surrounding the area almost made Dante lower his defenses but the nagging demonic presence at the edge of his mind forced him to remain on guard. Something was off as the older slayer felt the demon's aura race towards them.

Dante leaped to the side as a long blue tendril nearly a foot taller than himself burst from the ground, almost grabbing hold of Nero. The elder man half hoped that this was the demon who used curses so their quest could end soon. On the other hand, if it was that demon, he was in serious trouble with an injured and unconscious Nero occupying his arms. It would be stupid to put the younger slayer down, knowing that the demon's tendrils would grab hold of him and possibly kill him. After dodging yet another close call, the half devil was beginning to have no choice. It was either take the chance of putting the kid down and killing the large tentacle like things or stay dodging them for the rest of the night.

Dante jumped on top of one of the vendor carts, using it to get onto the roof of a nearby building. He quickly put Nero down, careful not to wake him in case the young man woke and made the mistake of trying to fight again. He drew Rebellion from his back quickly and turned in time to collide the blade with one of the tentacles, slicing it in half. A second one shot through the floors of the building directly beneath him. Dante jumped back before quickly grabbing hold of it and twisting it in his hand, attempting to find someway of getting the demon to show itself. A loud screech of pain echoed around the intersection as the devil hunter smirked.

"Hey, ugly, mind coming out here so I can talk to you?" The elder yelled, hoping that the thing he was fighting would at least come out of it's hiding spot. A low grumble that he managed to make out as a form of insult bounded off the walls. "What was that?" Dante twisted the tentacle in his hand to hear a scream in return.

"You filthy half breed! Let go of me!" A young voice, for a demon at least, howled back.

"Not until you come out. I have an offer you might want to hear." The devil slayer said, still holding onto the demonic appendage as he waited for a reply. The devil was silent for a moment before retracting the other tentacles protruding from the concrete of the ground.

"And this offer might be?" It finally asked, sounding as if it did not care what it was as along as it could slice off the experienced slayer's head. Dante knew that the demon was still hiding in case the offer was not anything of interest though he doubted that it would refuse.

"My partner here was infected about a day ago with a hybrid curse. If you can get rid of it, I'm willing to do or give you something in return. What do you say?" The older hunter said, glancing over his shoulder at the sleeping form of Nero. There was a moment of silence again before the demon spoke.

"What kind of hybrid curse?" _Good, at least it's interested in the deal._ Dante thought as he felt a little bit of relief wash over him before he remembered it had not agreed yet.

"Sensus and Letum." The demon was quiet again before a new tentacle sprouted from the roof of the building. Dante jumped as he grabbed Ebony with his free hand. "What do you think you're doing?" He said, aiming at the newly sprouted appendage.

"Inspecting. I can't help if I don't see the curse mark." The tentacle lifted Nero's human arm that was clutched tightly, rubbing against the bleeding flesh. The young man stirred in his sleep as small shivers of pain ran up his arm. "You waited this long to get him uncursed?" It asked in a scolding tone as it noticed how deep the engraving on the young man's skin was.

"Well, I'm sorry that I don't keep a curse demon in my basement." Dante muttered. "It's not like demons like you just wander around."

"I suppose." The demon spoke as it pulled the appendage away from the sleeping man. "Cute human..." It muttered loud enough for the elder to hear. Dante tensed, suddenly feeling that the demon was not going to ask for something he would want to give him.

"So?"

"I can undo the Letum but the Sensus will remain. That's not life threatening so I doubt you will mind." The demonic being said, it's lifeless tone switching sounding more serious. Dante dreaded asking the question the demon was waiting for.

"What do you want in return?" He swallowed, feeling nervousness crawl into his stomach. The smirk he had been wearing dropped as he heard the answer.

"The boy."

--


	7. Tight Spots and Bad Thoughts

Disclaimer: Sadly, I do not own any of the devil may cry characters in this fiction, if I did, Kyrie would have died in the first ten minutes of the game and Dante and Nero would be together...and Vergil would be shirtless in the third game...and Arkham would wear a frilly princess dress for my entertainment.

Rated Mature for Violence, Possible Incest, Language, Angst, Hurting Nero, Hot Man Sex in later Chapters, and other things I'm still thinking up.

--

Chapter Seven: Tight Spots and Bad Thoughts

To reiterate, Dante had sworn that he would save Nero at any cost. But he did not think that the demon he would come across would desire the young ex-order member in return. The half demon had expected that any demon would just ask for the life of the son of the legendary dark knight Sparda, not Nero's. Besides, it felt like if he were to hand over the younger man, he would just be giving him a life no one would want.

"No deal. I'm not giving him to you." Dante growled, feeling the normal protectiveness that he had developed towards Nero. The demon huffed as if it was insulted.

"Pity. It's a shame to see such a beautiful young boy die that painfully. I'm only asking for one night of the boy's...company." It hesitated as a low growl erupted from the elder's vocal cords. Dante felt the tentacle slip from his grasp, only furthering his frustration at the situation. "Think on it. I'll be on the eastern side of this human town if you wish to speak to me about this matter. Although if you choose to try and force me to uncurse the boy, I doubt he will be feeling any better." The echoing words faded as the still unknown demon disappeared.

Dante sighed. _Great. Just great._ He thought before looking over at the still resting younger hunter. _I still have to find a way to get rid of those curses. I can't let him suffer like this._ He watched the sleeping man shiver slightly as he pulled his legs up, attempting to keep warm. Dante looked up to see that the sun was gone and only a small trace of light remained. They would have to find someplace safe to recuperate. Hopefully, the curse demon would stay on the eastern side of town like it had said, but the older slayer was experienced enough to know not to trust devils.

Dante bent down and gently lifted Nero back into his arms, finding that he actually missed being close to the young man. He jumped down from the building, bending his knees when he landed before sprinting towards the north. If his mind was not on the man in his arms, he would have wondered where that canine demon had gone after the battle with Nero.

--

Well, it was official. This was the worst week of Dante's life. He sighed heavily as he walked towards a large pile of scrap metal that had no doubt been the elder's beloved red car. The large demon from before most likely wanted revenge for what Nero had done to it.

"There goes driving out of this town. I guess the only way is to walk now." Dante commented but he made no move to leave. In the back of his mind, he knew that this could be the only chance he had to get rid of the curse that was causing the man in his arms so much physical pain. It was unlikely for another customer to call about a curse demon again within three days. The devil slayer had no choice. "Things always have to be complicated." He sighed before turning back to one of the buildings in the town. Dante thought that if they stayed at least a night in the small town, he could think of someway to convince the demon to get rid of the Letum curse.

The door to the building was locked as the elder hunter expected. He balanced himself on one leg and kicked the door open, making the wood break in several places in the process. He could always subtract the collateral damage from his pay, if he got paid that is.

Looking around the small building that seemed to be an office or business establishment once, Dante found a solid dark brown couch up the stairs. He placed Nero on it before flipping the light switch. Nothing happened. The devil slayer looked up to see that the smoky colored light bulb was perfectly in tact.

"Hmm, Electricity must be out. I guess that demon wanted us to be more comfortable." The elder sighed as he put his hands on his hips.

The lack of light was beginning to take it's toll as the room grew darker, sucking away the heat as well. Dante looked over to Nero to see him curled up tightly on the couch. The fall months were defiantly not a great time for them to be camping out in a place with no source of heat. Worried about the cold effecting the younger man's healing further, he went to search around the building for any blankets or cloths. He came across nothing in the place that could be used to keep them warm. Taking a small chance, Dante slipped out of the building and broke open the door of the next one to find it was a normal house. The slayer grabbed two thin blankets from the bedrooms before hurrying back to the business building, not wanting to give the demon a chance to take him.

When Dante returned, he dropped the blankets as he saw the couch on the second floor was empty. Immediately, his mind jumped to the worst. He felt something touch his shoulder and he grabbed Ebony and Ivory, turning around to point them directly at a shocked Nero. Dante left out a breath of relief before speaking.

"Don't do that, kid. I could have really hurt you." He said, holstering his twin handguns. "What are you doing up anyway?" The younger man rolled his eyes.

"Not everyone sleeps for fourteen hours straight, old man." He said, moving to sit on the couch and take off his right boot. "Besides, this was keeping me awake." The ex-order member brushed away the ashes of the gaze to show the still bleeding mark that had appeared earlier that day. The red mark almost looked as if it had been carved into the skin and was growing deeper. It was no longer just on his ankle. The deep wound was now crawling up the young hunter's lower shin, making the flesh there burn and bleed.

"Damn thing's like a parasite." Dante sighed, sitting next to Nero and looking at the blood slowly dripping off the other man's leg. It pained him to watch his companion painfully bleed to death. He looked up at the younger man's face as Nero tried to wipe the blood off from his pants, seeing that his light colored skin was paler than usual. "You alright, kid? You look sick."

"I'm fine. Just tired." Nero lied, not wanting to worry the elder. At the rate of how bad the ex-order member felt, he could tell that he only had tomorrow and the next day before his body would give out on him. His demonic healing had stopped completely and even his human healing seemed to diminish under the curse.

Dante sighed internally, knowing that there really was no other choice than to agree to the demon's terms. It was either now or live completely alone at the Devil May Cry office without the company of the cocky kid he had grown so attached to. He leaned back on the sofa, stretching out as he thought on what he could possibly do. Trying to convince the demon to uncurse Nero would most likely end in him being cursed as well and that would not be good for either of them. Giving into the demands would mean the younger part demon would live but who knew what the demon would do to the young man. It had asked for on night of being alone with Nero. That alone was suspicious and Dante had a feeling that he would end up dead once Nero caught wind of him losing his virginity to a demon because of the devil hunter. At least, the elder hoped that all the devil had planned to do was take the younger slayer. Dante glared at the ceiling at the thought of that demon taking Nero, a demonic instinct deep inside his conscious saying that the other was his and only his to claim.

Nero glanced over at the older hunter as he heard a small growl pass through the man's vocal cords. Dante was glaring at the ceiling as he sat stretched out on the couch, his arms lying along the top of the sofa's frame. His face was tight with frustration and anger, an expression the younger devil slayer barely saw on the half demon's features.

"You okay, old man?" Nero asked as he pulled up his pant leg in order to avoid staining it any further. Dante looked over at the younger man, a sudden desire to claim him running through his half demon blood. Was the kid always this alluring to him with the snow white hair and azure eyes. _It's not that I have an obsession with knowing his exact eye color. If I did, I would have clearly noticed the copper rim around his pupil._ He groaned at his own thoughts. Perhaps, subconsciously his demon side had targeted Nero as a mate, or at least that's what Dante told himself.

"Yeah." Dante said as turned his face away from the kid, knowing that his eyes were tinted red. Why was he losing control of himself now? He glanced down at the young slayer's blood dripping onto the floor. _That's probably it. _He thought, noticing the thick smell of the ex-order members blood. _I should get out of here before I lose it and do something I might regret later._

Nero watched the elder stand up and walk towards the door of the room, his pace unusually fast as if to escape something. The younger tried his best to stand up, putting most of his weight on his good leg and resting his devil bringer against the wall.

"Where are you going, Dante? If something's wrong, you can tell me." He said, knowing that the older man was hiding something now. Huffing in annoyance, he rolled his eyes at the hunter. "It's not like I'm a kid, idiot. No matter how much you treat me like one, it doesn't mean I am one." Nero glared at the back of the elder's head, finally letting out his frustration on how the other acted towards him. He sat back down on the couch, his wounded leg aching again as his wrist burned deeper.

Dante had stopped and knew that he should talk to the young devil slayer but at the moment, his mind was not focused on anything but the bulge concealed in his tight leather pants. He swallowed and willed himself to walk to the door, fighting against every instinct his devil side screamed at him. _Later. Later. _He told himself silently._ If I can get rid of that curse, I'll have time for thoughts like these_. Opening the door, he looked over his shoulder quickly, his red eyes finding the furious ones of the younger part demon.

"We'll have time for this later." He smiled before closing the door behind him, leaning against it for a second. After a few breaths of fresh air, he walked down the stairs to find somewhere he could sleep.

Nero bit his lip as he watched Dante leave. The look in the older hunter's eyes startled him and the deep, somewhat husky tone of the other man's voice still rang in his ears as he stared at the door. His anger had disappeared as the Sensus curse's effects subsided, but that did not explain why his heart was beating fast at the look Dante had given him. _What the hell is happening?!_

_--_


	8. Blood and Strawberry Syrup

Disclaimer: Sadly, I do not own any of the devil may cry characters in this fiction, if I did, Kyrie would have died in the first ten minutes of the game and Dante and Nero would be together...and Vergil would be shirtless in the third game...and Arkham would wear a frilly princess dress for my entertainment.

Rated Mature for Violence, Possible Incest, Language, Angst, Hurting Nero, Hot Man Sex in later Chapters, and other things I'm still thinking up.

I'm alive, I swear! I've just been having some Real Life problems lately (mainly in the love department so I was avoiding writing love stories like this one), but I am back! Sorry if this chapter seems a bit lacking. I haven't written in a long time so I may have become a little rusty. Anyway, enjoy~!

--

Chapter Eight: Blood and Strawberry Syrup

Dante tried his best to push out the thoughts of Nero up the stairs but no matter what he did, the bad thoughts would not leave his mind. The smell of the blood was slowly seeping through the ceiling, making no place safe from the scent unless he left the building. It was torture to sit at the bottom of the steps instead of opening the door and taking the weak young man. Dante sighed, resting his head in his hands as he attempted to think of a way to get rid of the curses again. It was nearly impossible at all to think of anything other than fucking the young hunter through the floor.

"Come on, Dante. You don't have time for things like that." Dante muttered to himself as he rested his head in his hands. He was tired from constantly trying to make sure the younger hunter would not do anything stupid. He leaned against one of the white walls of the office and closed his eyes, choosing to sleep the arousal off.

--

Dante felt oddly comfortable in his sitting position on the stairs. He managed to fight away the dreams of sex long enough to gain an hour or two of rest. He shifted his head slightly as it rested against the wall, enjoying the darkness of his dreams and letting his guard down for a rare moment. It was only when he felt a heavy object fall onto his shoulder that he realized he was relaxed. His eyes snapped open and looked over to see Nero resting his head on his right shoulder. Dante sighed softly and relaxed again. _Damn kid is trying to kill me_. He thought watching Nero's closed eyes and soft features. The elder felt a pang of arousal as the smell of the younger hunter's blood grew stronger. Every second near him strained Dante's control over his demon side and urges to wake the kid in a very unpleasant way.

In an instant, the elder found his lips on the younger man's. He pulled away quickly, knowing that he could not hold the desire back any longer. Dante crushed his lips against Nero's while pushing the young man onto his back against the stairwell. He felt the claws of the ex-order member's devil bringer embed themselves into the leather of his shirt, tearing through it and scraping against his skin. A soft moan came from the lips the elder was ravishing, making his arousal stronger. Dante groaned, enjoying the soft lips of the younger man and how wonderful Nero's body felt against his. He parted his lips, caught up in the bliss of finding out the taste of the younger man at last.

"Dante." The older hunter furrowed his eyebrows, confused on how the kid under him was talking while he was practically kissing his brains out. He ignored it and dived his tongue into Nero's mouth, about to gain the taste of what he truly desired. "Dante!" A sharp strike at the back of his head made him finally open his eyes, the first floor of the office coming into view. Dante lifted his head from the wall he was resting against, pissed that it was just a teasing dream again. "Finally! I've been calling your name for the past ten minutes. I thought you had kicked the bucket, old man." _Ah, how I love how rude that little punk can be. Wait, is this the same kid that was bleeding to death last night? _Dante thought before turning around, instantly wishing he had not.

Nero was leaning all his weight against the wall, the right leg of his pants completely soaked in red. His normally pale complexion was a dead white as his breath came in sharp gasps through his parted lips. Dante could not help but turn away, seeing the other in such pain making him regret all thoughts of having sex with him while he was so defenseless.

"Kid, please tell me you caught a fever then ran a mile before spilling strawberry syrup all over your leg." Dante knew that it was a ridiculous story but in that moment, he really wished that was what had happened. Nero let out a laugh that quickly turned into a coughing fit. Dante stood up quickly, going up a few steps and grabbing hold of the younger man's shoulder to prevent him from falling.

"I honestly don't think I have three days left, old man..." The ex-order member pulled his hand away from his lips, a red smear tinting them a dark color compared to the rest of his face. He had woken up in a daze, feeling something wet against his skin that had caused him to panic and scream out to Dante. When there was no response, Nero had assumed the worst had happened and went to look for the elder hunter. "We should just give up. I still have enough time to say goodbye to every..." Dante's tightening grip on his shoulder made him go silent as he watched the older hunter's bangs cover his eyes. "Listen to me, Dante. We just have to face the truth. There is nothing we can do." Nero said, taking time to force air into his lungs after every sentence. Suddenly, he felt Dante yank him forward and into a tight embrace, the elder's face buried in his neck. "D-Dante?"

"I'm really sorry, Nero. You're going to hate me for this." Dante muttered, one of his hands leaving the younger man's back.

"Hate you for wha-" The older hunter's fist slammed into the back of Nero's head, making his eyesight fade before going black. Dante felt the young man's weight fall onto him as he held him tightly. He hated that time was almost out and he honestly had no other option than to gave the curse demon Nero. It was better if the younger man was unconscious and was not aware of what was going to happen, even if he hated Dante for it later. A long time ago, the choice of letting the younger hunter decide on what to do disappeared because Dante knew Nero would think it stupid to waste time on saving his life. The elder slayer was being selfish and he was completely aware of it but he could not let the younger man just throw away his life for nothing.

Dante picked the younger man up, holding him tightly in his arms as he walked out the broken wooden door and into the street. It was dawn now, the sun barely shining between the buildings and lighting the empty town. The experienced devil slayer walked towards the east part of the rural city, swearing to kill the demon in the most foul of ways if he had left.


	9. Coffins and Fears

Disclaimer: Sadly, I do not own any of the devil may cry characters in this fiction, if I did, Kyrie would have died in the first ten minutes of the game and Dante and Nero would be together...and Vergil would be shirtless in the third game...and Arkham would wear a frilly princess dress for my entertainment.

Rated Mature for Violence, Possible Incest, Language, Angst, Hurting Nero, Hot Man Sex in later Chapters, and other things I'm still thinking up.

--

Chapter Nine: Coffins and Fears

"Hey ugly! You still here?!" Dante yelled out as he past the central square and into the eastern part of the barren town. His brow furrowed as no response came like before. "Hey-"

"Call me 'ugly' again and I'll leave the boy how he is." An angered hiss echoed off the buildings. "I'm surprised you are still here. I thought you were too attached to that human to give him up."

"Fine. You don't want him, then I'll just go find a different demon." Dante said, his tone teasing as he turned away and started walking back to the plaza. Despite his voice, his face was twisted in an uncharacteristic anger, which might have reminded him of a certain blue clad man when he had been defeated by him a few years before.

"Good luck with that." The reply was dry and uncaring. Dante sighed before stopping mid step. He looked down at the whitening face of the young man in his arms, a certain mix of pain and guilt mixing inside his chest as he turned around. The older hunter averted his eyes from the unconscious man and stared at a corner of a building a few meters away.

"Where do you want him?" Dante swallowed, feeling sick for doing something like this. He would have preferred it being him instead and cursed himself for not watching Nero more. It was his fault that the younger man was in this situation. He could not deny that.

"That old gray building will suffice." The unknown demon cooed. Dante could almost hear the big grin on it's face and how it was enjoying how much this was tearing him apart. He looked around the street to see the house that the devil had mentioned.

"One night-!"

"One night and I will uncurse him, just as agreed. You can pick him up in that same building tomorrow morning. Though, don't think I will leave him there all day. That cute human might get lonely and I will just have to-"

"You already have him so shut it! I'll be on fucking time." Dante yelled, finally snapping as he walked towards the building. He lifted his leg to open the door, kicking it hard enough for it fly across the wide room and smash against the opposite wall. Everything on the first floor of the house was broken and piled together in a haphazard way. Dante figured the demon knew that he was going to give into it's demands and made a home for itself. He stepped inside, careful not to trip on any of the objects lying on the floor. The hunter quickly found a pile of white bed sheets, placing Nero on top of them while he tried not to think of what he was doing.

Dante paused in his haste to leave, looking at Nero's handsome face again. Even if he was deathly pale and his blood soaking the sheets, the elder could not help but stare at his youthful features. He would hate him, so why not make another reason for him to. Dante closed the short space between them, pressing his lips to Nero's own. They were soft, just like in all his dreams but this time, he knew it was real.

The hunter pulled away when he felt a certain wetness brim along his eyelashes, standing up and knowing it was time to go. He walked out of the building, hesitating almost every step and turning his head towards Nero's unconscious form. The older man dared not to look at him, fearing that he would only make the feeling stuck in his mind worse.

Dante walked quickly down the street once he had exited the building, the feeling that he had just placed Nero in his own coffin settling in his stomach like a stone.

--

Silence and the faint smell of mildew assaulted Nero's senses once he regained his consciousness. When he opened his eyes, he struggled to focus his vision on the broken ceiling. It was strange. That ceiling was not broken before Dante knocked him out and he was standing on the staircase, not lying down on a flat surface.

"Dante?" Nero called out, expecting the elder's face to suddenly appear in his line of vision, worried like he always was when Nero was hurt. No response came. The young man furrowed his brow and called out again, angry that the older hunter was playing his little game of 'sleep and ignore Nero' again. A playful chuckle replied to his third yell of Dante's name, too unnatural for a half demon to make.

"Such a cute little human voice..." _Okay, whatever the fuck called me cute and little is going to die._ Nero thought, seething as the soft murmur dissipated. With some effort, the young slayer managed to push himself into a sitting position. He did not bother to even try using his human arm, finding that he could not feel it at all, as if it was not part of his body.

"Whoever just called me cute is looking to get their ass kicked. Where the hell am I?" Nero looked around the room, his vision finally clearing enough for him to see the room around him. "When did the hurricane hit? This place is a dump." He had gone back to his normal sardonic ways again out of habit, knowing that insulting whatever had taken him away from Dante was probably not the best choice in his condition. Wait, the demon had taken him from Dante. That meant either the older man was stupid and left him alone after he knocked him out or the demon had hurt Dante bad enough to prevent him from protecting him.

"What did you do to Dante?! Where is he?!" Nero yelled, glancing around the room to find where the demon might have been hiding. Another laugh bounced around the room, sounding much darker than the first.

"I did nothing to that other hunter. I merely made a deal and he had no choice but to agree. Yes, he might have been a little reluctant to give you to me but he did in the end."

_What? Dante gave me to this thing? What the hell does that mean?!_ Nero glared at the wall in front of him as if it was the lying demon.

"Heh, yeah right. Even if Dante gave me to you, that wasn't his choice to make. It's not like I'm owned by him so he can't just give me to someone. I'm out of here." The young hunter grabbed a arm of the broken couch next to the pile of bed sheets, quickly pulling himself onto his legs. Instantly, they buckled underneath him, making him fall forward and catch himself with his human arm. A sharp gasp came from behind his clenched teeth as pain from his bleeding arm shot through him like a bullet. "Fuck!"

"It does not seem like you have a choice, little human. Those curses have taken a lot out of you and judging by how much blood you are losing, you might not even make it to the end of the Letum. Also, you might as well stop with your act. The Sensus makes your true emotions clearer than glass." The demon spoke, it's voice sounding like it was smiling sadistically at Nero. "You are feeling fear and worry for that other hunter. I can see it in your face. Even when your voice is insulting and ignorant, I know what you are truly feeling."

"Oh, shut up. So what? I'm as good as dead, you said so yourself. So why make a deal for me? I'm useless like this." Nero sat back down carefully, still refusing to believe the story of Dante trading him for something. _He wouldn't do something like that. _He thought as his devil bringer held his bleeding arm. _The Dante I know wouldn't......would he? _The elder demon slayer had always hated that he gave up so easily on some matters. Not to mention how Nero was living with him and annoyed him everyday at the office while his rent was tagging along and slowing down a mission. _Maybe...this was his way of telling me he didn't want me around anymore…_

"It does not matter why I wanted you. What matters is that I have you." Nero jumped in surprise as a few long blue tentacles burst from under the cool tiles. "And I will claim you as mine!" When the tendrils shot towards the young bleeding man, his eyes widened as fear shook him. Nero could not hide his emotions from coming into plain view. Whether it was because he knew it was pointless to act or because he could not hold them in, Sensus or not. He could not stop himself from screaming the first word that came to mind.

"DANTE!"

--


	10. Blood Loss and Suggestions

Disclaimer: Sadly, I do not own any of the devil may cry characters in this fiction, if I did, Kyrie would have died in the first ten minutes of the game and Dante and Nero would be together...and Vergil would be shirtless in the third game...and Arkham would wear a frilly princess dress for my entertainment.

Rated Mature for Violence, Possible Incest, Language, Angst, Hurting Nero, Hot Man Sex in later Chapters, Blood, and other things I'm still thinking up.

I apologize to everyone for the extremely late update. I got back into Final Fantasy and was nervous about mixing up characters' personalities. Luckily, I managed to get this chapter done and am pleased with it. Thank you to everyone who is reviewing my stories~! ^w^ They help me realize people actually want me to continue writing. Anyway, enough of me, Let's get to what you clicked here for.

--

Chapter Ten: Blood Loss and Suggestions

Nero screamed out Dante's name at the top of his lungs, honestly hoping the older man would come. One of the demon's tendrils lashed out and wrapped around his mouth and skull, squeezing tightly and preventing him from yelling for help again. Nero grabbed it with his devil bringer, ripping it away from him as he forced his legs to support his weight. His eyes caught the open door of the building and he sprinted towards the door, wincing as he moved his right leg. The tentacles shot out of the ground in front of him, attempting to grab a hold of him as Nero forced himself to jump over them and through the door. One managed to grab his injured wrist and press on the bleeding flesh. The young slayer bit his lip in pain before pulling Blue Rose from it's holster and shooting the tentacle to pieces. He sprinted down the street as the demon screeched at him.

"I'll kill you, you little brat!" The street behind and in front of Nero erupted as tentacles shot out of the ground and towards him. The young slayer aimed his revolver at them but could not move fast enough to shoot them all. A few tendrils wrapped around his devil bringer and yanked the Blue Rose from his hand, many others grabbing onto Nero's legs tightly. The ex-order member watched his gun fall to the ground a few feet away, clutching his teeth in pain from the hold on his wounded right leg. "I may have agreed to uncurse you but that was before you shot me. I only agreed to that hunter's terms because I thought you would be easy to dominate. I suppose this teaches me not to choose my prey when they are unconscious." The demon spoke, it's tentacles seizing Nero's body and preventing him from moving. "Still, I am a demon of my word. I will uncurse you, but that hunter said nothing about returning you alive."

_Uncurse me? _Nero thought as he tried to struggle free from the demon's grasp. His energy was fading as he suddenly stopped fighting the tentacles, his body shaking as he started coughing again. Blood soon dripped from his lips and onto the broken concrete, quickly forming a large puddle that seeped through the cracks of the road. The demon did not move to do anything but merely watched the young man in it's grasp cough and bleed.

"Honestly, that hunter was stupid to think he could stop you from dying. If I had not shown up in this world a few days ago, you might be lying in your home in your own blood. Not that it matters since I will kill-"

"You know, you talk way too much for a demon. Normally, demons just insult me then try to kill me, not rant for hours about what they are going to do. You need to work on that." Nero smirked as the blood stopped filling his mouth long enough for him to speak. He knew that it did not matter what he did now but he longed to piss the hidden demon off. Besides, he was tired of this demon ranting and saying things twice as if he did not hear it the first time. "Oh well, maybe you're just all talk and no action. Man, I feel like an idiot for being scared of you earlier." A growl told Nero that it was working.

"I'll rip that smart little mouth to pieces!" The tentacles tightened around the young hunter. His bones strained not to break under the increasing pressure, making him shut his eyes in pain and forget what he was doing for a moment. Before the demon could move to do as it said, Nero spoke again.

"So much for being a demon of your word." The ex-order member could not help the smirk forming on his lips as he felt a tentacle slide around his marked wrist. A cold feeling engulfed his human arm before the tentacle moved away, the scythe wings and the burning disappearing. _Finally. _Nero thought, glad to be free of the horrible ache that the curse had forced upon him. _Now…Now, I'll just die by being torn apart rather than bleeding to death. _He thought grimly, noticing that the wounds on his body did not disappear with the mark like he hoped. _So much for fighting my way out of here. Damn it…_ A sharp gasp left his lips as the tentacles around him squeezed his body tighter, making the air leave his lungs and something inside snap. _…Damn it all!_

A loud bang sounded down the street but Nero could barely hear it because of the blood pounding in his ears. What he did hear was the piercing shriek from the demon holding him, the tentacles loosening their grip only slightly. Then he heard the one thing he would have done anything for.

"Ha! I knew I could count on you, kid. Always the same cocky, smart mouthed punk I know." Nero opened his eyes as much as he could to see Dante standing a few meters down the street. He would have felt relieved if the tentacles around him were not trying, and possibly succeeding, to break him in half. Dante only smirked before firing multiple rounds from Ebony and Ivory into the tentacles surrounding Nero.

The demon dropped the younger hunter, shrieking and cursing Dante as a few of it's tentacles dropped to the torn road. Nero fell to his knees, wincing as he landed on his blood covered leg but pushing it aside. He stood as straight as he could before quickly running and grabbing Blue Rose from the street, joining Dante in the barrage of bullets into the still hidden demon. The older slayer made his way over to Nero as he continued to fire into the flesh of the devil, turning many tentacles into just bloody stubs.

"How you feeling, kid?" Dante asked as the tentacles disappeared back under the cement, holding onto his twin guns. Nero stopped firing at the ground, instantly falling backward as his legs refused to support him anymore.

"That answer your question, old man?" Nero groaned from the impact before he struggled to sit up. "It doesn't burn anymore but I still feel awful. I don't think I've stopped bleeding either." Dante frowned slightly, glad that Nero had done what he thought he might. The little firecracker always did get on the bad side of others.

"That's not good. We should try to get out of here as fast as possible."

"Hey, Dante, come here." The ex-order member said, looking up at him. Dante glanced at him in confusion before bending down near him. "Closer." The elder moved so he was a foot way from Nero's face. The look on the younger's face was beyond pissed as he lifted his devil bringer with the Blue Rose in it's grasp, pistol whipping the side of Dante's face hard enough to break part of the man's jaw. "That's what you get for trading me to a fucking demon! I don't give a fuck if it was to uncurse me! That thing was going to rape me and kill me, you fucking-!"

"Hey, kid. How about you save kicking my ass for when we're out of here?" Nero stopped shouting at the elder as a grim smile came over Dante's lips, holding his jaw so it could heal. Had Dante been worried about him? And more importantly, had he been crying over him? His eyes were slightly red and even a few tear tracks were still visible. _If he really cared about me then why did he trade me away to an untrustworthy demon in the first place!_

"You stinking half breeds!" The screech bouncing around the walls of the buildings prevented Nero from speaking again. Tentacles burst out of the ground again, in more numbers and larger than before. "I'll tear one of you apart then force the remains down the other's throat!" The younger man actually felt himself gag at the thought. He already felt sick from the loss of blood and really did not need any mental images of things like that.

"I'll give you an option, ugly. I normally don't do this but seeing you helped my friend here, I think I'll give you the chance. You can either go back to where you came from or you can stay here and die. What do you say? Life worth living for a couple hundred more years?" Dante offered, his tone light but his face was one that Nero had never seen before. Pure anger, and a lot of it. There was a moment of silence, as if the demon was contemplating it's odds against the enraged hunter. Then the tentacles slowly slid back into the ground.

"This won't be the last time you see me. I will return." The demon spoke. Dante laughed at it.

"I bet. Everyone I fight says that to me." There was no response, the demon seeming to have left the town. Dante sighed and turned back his back to Nero before kneeling in front of him. "Get on. It's a long walk back to-" The older hunter was interrupted by being kicked roughly in the ass, falling face first onto the concrete and feeling the rough texture of the road break his skin. He propped himself up on his elbows, waiting for the skin to mend itself before turning back to the younger man. "What the hell was that for?!"

"I was kicking your ass for leaving me with that thing. Don't get mad at me, you suggested it." Nero said, glaring at the older man. Dante sighed and moved to rub the bridge of his nose.

"Yeah, I guess I did. Anyway, we should head back to the office and fix you up. Once you're healed, I'll let you kick my ass as many times as you want." He said, moving to kneel in front of Nero again, this time watching so the younger hunter would not kick him again. The ex-order member carefully moved and wrapped his arms around Dante's neck, allowing the elder to grab his legs and lift him up. "Well, at least most of this is over." Dante muttered as he stood and headed out of the town, hoping to reach Devil May Cry before morning.

--


	11. Out of the Picture

Disclaimer: Sadly, I do not own any of the devil may cry characters in this fiction, if I did, Kyrie would have died in the first ten minutes of the game and Dante and Nero would be together...and Vergil would be shirtless in the third game...and Arkham would wear a frilly princess dress for my entertainment.

Rated Mature for Violence, Possible Incest, Language, Angst, Hurting Nero, Hot Man Sex in later Chapters, Blood, and other things I'm still thinking up.

This chapter is basically angst cream with angst syrup~! I actually was going to make it have more angst but I like how this turned out better. Enjoy~!

--

Chapter Eleven: Out of the Picture

Dante sat behind his oak desk, propping his feet up on it as he sighed. The worst of his problems were over now, at least he hoped. Nero's healing had not kicked in just yet, the loss of blood most likely being the case. The younger hunter barely had any demon blood inside him in the first place and now he had bled out most of what he had. Dante could not help but pace around as he waited for Nero to wake up, the younger man having fallen asleep on his back when he was walking back to the office. The older hunter bit his lip lightly, nervous about if the kid could really make it.

He had to take a shower after he got back, noticing that the wetness soaking through his clothes had been Nero's blood. He did not get the chance to change the younger hunter's clothes yet, mainly for his fear of the other waking while he was half naked. Dante had already lost control of himself once when Nero was unconscious, he did not need a half naked blushing Nero under him. Or did he?

Dante smacked the side of his head. _No! The kid nearly died yesterday and here I am, still thinking about getting in his pants. I'm such a wonderful person, aren't I? _He sighed, grabbing a dirty magazine out of a drawer of his desk and placing it over his face. _I should just try to sleep this off. If I'm lucky, this will all have been a horrible, long nightmare…why am I never that lucky?_

--

Nero groaned loudly as he woke from his sleep. The pain of his bleeding limbs hitting him the instant he came back to reality. He opened his eyes and glanced towards the window, seeing the sunlight drifting in through his closed curtains.

"Damn. It's morning already. I didn't sleep that long." Nero groaned again as he sat up, removing the covers to check his right leg. He swallowed roughly as he noticed blood smeared across the white sheet. He was still bleeding and he knew that was not a good sign. The burning may have left his body but he still could not heal the gashes it left. Sighing, Nero moved to get out of his bed, biting his lip hard when he moved his right leg and left arm.

A thought entered his mind, telling him that he should call for Dante. He shook his head angrily at himself, refusing to let the elder see him in this sort of weak state again. Nero knew he had already been weak in front of Dante enough while under the Letum curse, besides, he was still angry at the older hunter for leaving him for dead with that demon.

Still, Dante had come back for him. Grudgingly, Nero had to admit that he would have probably been raped and then killed in some horrible way if the elder did not turn up when he did. He owed him another thanks.

Nero sighed irritably, feeling like he could not do anything right. Dante always had to come and save his ass before he was brutally killed. _Maybe…M-maybe, I should just give up all of this. I'm sure I could get a real job somewhere…I'm just not cut out to be a devil hunter. _Nero rubbed the back of his bowed head, honestly thinking over how many times he nearly died because of a stupid mistake. _I should tell Dante I'm quitting. I can thank him for saving me by not slowing down his missions anymore. Besides, I doubt he'll miss me._ He stood up, grabbing onto the bedside table and wincing as he did. His body was not going to like him for a while but he needed to at least talk to the more experienced slayer, then he could pack his things and call up a real estate agent.

--

Dante opened his eyes when he heard someone coming down the stairs, a topless woman on the page of the dirty magazine greeting him. He quickly removed the magazine from resting on his face and shoved it in the drawer, worried that it had been Lady. He was not in the mood to get shot in the groin for looking at topless women again, he still could not get the pain out of his mind from the last time.

When he looked up, his eyes met Nero's dark blue and copper eyes instead of Lady's mismatched eyes. The smile that did not have the chance to spread on his lips died as he noticed how bad the younger man was limping. Dante felt increasingly bad as Nero finally reached the foot of the steps, wondering why in hell's name didn't the other call for him. He decided not to word the question, knowing if he brought up the younger's injuries he would just be yelled at again.

"Why are you wearing that burned hoodie again?" Dante asked, feeling awkward in the silence and needing to break it. Nero shrugged slightly with his right shoulder, muttering something about not having any clean clothes. The tension in the air was suffocating him. He did not know what to say and the fact that Nero seemed sad, no, more like depressed, was making Dante feel a bit guilty. "Nero, I-"

"I'm not going to be a devil hunter anymore, Dante. I'm quitting." The elder's eyes widened at the sudden outburst, taking his feet off the desk and leaning forward in his chair. The younger hunter, ex-hunter, would not meet his eyes.

"What?!" Dante asked, shocked and never expecting those words to leave the other's mouth. The kid loved to hunt and show him up. They were partners, they worked together and kicked the shit out of any demon they came across. Dante would never say it in front of Lady but Nero was the best hunter he had ever worked with. The elder even thought he may have developed something for him out in the mist of all their battles together. Why the hell would he give up on all that?! "Kid, you have to be pulling my leg."

"I'm sorry, Dante." Nero stared at the floor, trying his hardest not to let the Sensus curse get to him. He would have looked at Dante if only his eyes would stop tearing up. _Damn, I hate this._

The older man really tried to hold in his anger, he really did, but he just could not stop himself. He marched across the room, teeth gritted and punched Nero across the face. Dante hated it when the other just took it, not even bothering to block it. The ex-order member kept his face turned away from the elder.

"Thanks." Nero muttered, confusing Dante even more. He took a deep breath. "If it weren't for you I would probably be dead right now. That's why I'm leaving. I don't want to hold you back anymore. You always have to watch over me and make sure I don't get myself killed. I'm slowing you down, old man."

"That's not true, Nero." Dante said, grabbing the side of the younger man's face and forcing him to look him in the eye. "Whatever happened to that cocky punk I knew? Where's the kid who forced me to eat something other than pizza for my health? Where's the guy that protects my ass from getting shot by Lady when I say something wrong? Where's the hunter who took five bullets in the chest for me once? Nero, without you, I would still be the careless jackass who didn't give a fuck if he died. As cheesy as it sounds and no matter how much I try to deny it, you're the reason why I haven't died yet. You're the reason why I force myself to keep breathing. If you're just going to give up on everything because you think it's your fault, then my reason to go on in this world is gone."

Dante stopped himself, realizing that he was probably overstating many things. Not to mention, probably scaring Nero. He just did not want Nero to leave and a small voice in that back of his mind whispered that what he was saying was the truth. When the man in his grasp was silent, he sighed and let go of him.

"Sorry. I got out of hand. It's just…you're not the only one who has gone through shit like this and I don't want you to give up just because of me, Nero. Hate yourself if you want but I'm still going to…going to be your friend." Dante swallowed, knowing that he just caught himself from going into a love confession. He already scared Nero before, he did not need to scare him into running out of Devil May Cry. "Kid…Don't go…" Dante was ready to kill the tension in the air as silence filled the room again.

"Stop calling me 'kid' and I'll think about it." Nero said as finally looked up at the hunter without being forced to. He was honestly taken back by how much Dante wanted him to stay. The elder sighed lightly in relief, glad that he had at least convinced the younger slayer not to act so rashly.

"Well, ki-Nero, let's get your wounds fixed up. You're bleeding all over my floor."

--

Nero felt bad for doing it, both physically and mentally. Climbing out a second story window would have been an easy task for him if he was not as injured as he was. He did not have much of a choice though, knowing that Dante would have heard him sneaking out if he past his room. He jumped down from the small ledge outside his window, rolling as he landed and biting his lip to stop any sound of pain escaping him. After a few moments of letting the ache in his leg and arm ease, he stood and looked up at the window to his room.

"Sorry, Dante." He muttered before shifting the bag over his right shoulder and walking down the street, not looking back.

--


	12. Only One

Disclaimer: Sadly, I do not own any of the devil may cry characters in this fiction, if I did, Kyrie would have died in the first ten minutes of the game and Dante and Nero would be together...and Vergil would be shirtless in the third game...and Arkham would wear a frilly princess dress for my entertainment.

Rated Mature for Violence, Possible Incest, Language, Angst, Hurting Nero, Hot Man Sex in later Chapters, Blood, Gore, and other things I'm still thinking up.

--

Chapter Twelve: Only One

"What do you mean you can't find him?!" Dante nearly screamed into the phone. When he had woken up the next morning to find Nero was not in his room, he instantly called up almost every person he knew to track him down. He had even called the younger ex-hunter's favorite restaurant and told them to keep a look out for the other silver haired man.

"Calm down, Dante. Worrying about him and screaming in my ear isn't going to bring him back faster." Lady's irritated voice came from the other side of the line. "Getting back to what I was saying before I went deaf in my right ear, we can't find Nero anywhere in the past few cities we checked but we have a few people who gave a positive identification of him. The owner of a local bar said that Nero was asking him about job opportunities in the more rural towns south from here and even if there were any boats heading to Fortuna soon." Dante sighed as he listened, quickly thinking over what Nero would have done.

"You and Trish head to the closest docks and check if he's there. I don't care if you have to go to Fortuna to find him, go." He muttered into the phone, pinching the bridge of his nose.

"You know if we go on the boats-"

"Yeah, yeah. I'm paying for it. Since when am I not?" Dante said, cutting her off before hanging up the phone. He was not in the mood to deal with a pissed Lady at the moment, then again, he was not in the mood for anything. The devil hunter did not even order a pizza or eat anything since he found out about Nero's disappearance. "You better be on the damn boat, kid." Dante muttered, grabbing his equipment and leather jacket before moving to go into his room. He might as well use it in case something went wrong. When he was about to open the top drawer of his dresser, the phone rang again. Sighing, the demon hunter walked back down the stairs and towards his desk before answering it. "Devil May Cry."

"Dante, I think we may have a problem. The bar owner was possessed by a demon." Lady said loudly, a gunshot echoing near her. "Nero's in more trouble than we thought. There's a trail of demons in every city he's been in and we still haven't found the master of these guys."

Dante sighed. He had really hoped that Nero was on that boat but apparently the kid's bad luck had to interfere with something as simple as that.

--

Nero wandered through the thicket of the forest on his way to a rural town. He decided to take a path off the main road, not wanting in run into Dante or anyone else the elder most likely called in panic. Knowing the older hunter, he would have half the world looking for him about now. He really did worry too much sometimes.

Nero's breathing hitched suddenly as a sharp pain shot through his left arm, making him stop walking through the forest. He lifted his left arm and inspected it, wondering why it would hurt that much when he did not even bump it. A sickening feeling formed in the pit of his stomach as the bandaging around his wrist started smoking.

"Hmm. Concealment spells never last long against curses." Nero glanced around the forest at the echoing voice, clutching his wrist as a horribly familiar burning began to spread across it.

"You concealed it?! But it stopped burning. It was gone!" A feeling of panic set into Nero's mind. If it was only concealed then he did not have long. He would be dead by tomorrow. The ex-hunter took a few steps back, not wanting to believe it and to actually run. Dante would never find him if he died in a place like this.

"I see the Sensus is back to full effect. If I were you, I would lie down. It's going to really hurt in…well, now." The demon spoke, sounding very pleased with itself.

Nero opened his mouth, about to question what the demon meant but could not as he dropped to his knees. His entire left arm felt as if it was engulfed in flames, the skin turning a sickening pale as it tore along the veins. The taste of copper filled his mouth before pouring out his lips, creating a red pool between the green blades of grass. A feeling similar to that of white hot steal stabbing through his chest made him bit his lip to stifle a scream, making the blood pool in his mouth and into his lungs. Nero coughed and clutched at his chest, unintentional tears forming in his eyes from the overwhelming pain swallowing him.

"Make it stop, you fucking...you fucking..." Nero tried to yell at the demon, to insult it, anything in order to make the hidden being uncurse him. Instead, a dark chuckle echoed in the young man's ears.

"You really don't know much about curses, do you?" The demon asked, on of it's blue tentacles sprouting from the pool of red near Nero. It curled around the young ex-hunter's waist to prevent him from falling into the blood practically pouring out his mouth. "There are two ways of getting rid of Letum. One is to have someone sacrifice themselves and die in your place. The other, to die. Going to a demon to get rid of it will not work. That would just defeat the purpose." It paused as Nero went limp in it's grasp. "I am surprised that you didn't realize that it was a concealment spell. The burning is a symptom of the Sensus, not Letum. Your injuries haven't healed, either."

"Man, you talk too…much." The young man said, trying not to lose consciousness. "Why don't you just tear me part like you said you would?" Nero panted heavily, barely able to breath through the liquid clotting his throat let alone speak. The demon did not respond right away, most likely thinking over weather it should tear the ex-order member apart or not.

"Hmm, I find your suffering more satisfying than ripping your limbs off. Though I suppose if I did, you would be less annoying." The demon sprouted another tentacle from the ground, curling under Nero's chin to tilt his head up. "Too bad you won't last much longer. You are a cute human…when you don't talk." The young man tried to pull away from the demon's appendages as the one around his waist dipped lower, coming dangerously close to his groin. Nero could not find the strength to get out of the grip, mentally wishing that the curse would just kill him rather than stay alive and be raped by this demon. "I never did get my night with you. Perhaps I should claim that time now."

"Not a chance. You didn't follow your side of the deal, so you can't have him."

"I'm starting to get annoyed by your constant interruptions." The demon hissed. Dante brushed a branch out of his way as he stepped through the trees, smirking. The devil hunter unsheathed Rebellion from it's place on his back, smirk falling as he noticed Nero's condition.

"Get used to it, ugly." He muttered, eyes not leaving Nero. "Hang in there, kid. I'm getting you out of this." Nero could barely focus his eyes on the elder, his own blood still dripping sickeningly off his chin. He did not think there was any way out and wished Dante would just leave him. He never wanted the experienced devil slayer to see him like this.

"We'll see about that!" The demon screeched as it's tentacles burst through the dirt under the elder. Dante jumped into the sky, making the appendages grab air. He swung his large sword around himself, keeping himself in the air while cutting the tendrils as they reached for him. The hidden devil growled fiercely, summoning differently colored tentacles that shot out towards Dante. The hunter landed on the branches of a nearby tree, taking in a breath before a pair of red tentacles smashed into the trunk. The oak tree was in flames on impact, the red appendages most likely being cast with some kind of fire curse. Dante slid across the grass as he was knocked backwards by the horde of hostless appendages. He righted himself quickly as the tree he once stood upon fell, soon creating a ring of fire inside the forest. Worry hit him as he noticed Nero kneeling in the center of the roaring flames. His eyes widened as the tree hovering over his friend started to lose it's balance, leaning towards the ex-order member and threatening to crush him.

"Nero! Move!" Dante screamed, knowing very well that Nero could not. He panicked and dropped his sword, seeing another tendril shoot across the forest towards him. The elder grabbed the tentacle, ignoring the cold burning feeling from the white flesh as he pulled it with all his strength. In mere seconds that felt like an eternity to Dante, he managed to pull the demon and all it's tentacles out of hiding. He ignored the loud hiss of anger from the demon's fanged mouth as he spun and threw the demon's light blue body towards the burning tree. The demon smashed into the tree's branches, pushing it over and away from the bleeding man. Nero fell to the blood covered ground, unable to stop himself as the tentacles keeping him up left him. Dante grabbed his sword and ran towards the younger man, wanting to make sure he was alive as the demon cursed at them. He slid into a kneeling position next to Nero, putting a hand on the other part demon's back as he tried to ignore the heavy smell of blood. "Kid!"

"D-Dante...I didn't...didn't think you would find me here." Nero gripped the now red grass tightly with his devil bringer. "I didn't want you to come, you...jackass!" Dante frowned slightly, feeling pain, guilt, and sadness tear at his chest.

"You can yell all you want when you get home." Nero scoffed as best as he could with blood in his lungs, sounding more like a cough than anything else.

"Look at me, Dante. Do you really think I can make it back?" Nero tone slowly turned from resentment to misery. "I'm not going to live through this shit. Find something else to live for because I'm...I'm already dead. I'm useless anyway, I...told you that." He paused, spitting more of his blood onto the grass in order to speak again. "I'm...sorry, Dante...I'm sorry I couldn't do better. Just let...me die here and go home..." Dante bit his lip softly, hating that Nero saw himself as something so weak. He brushed the red tipped snow white hair out of his partner's half lidded eyes, his own threatening to spill tears when he saw wet streaks down Nero's cheeks. He would not let it end like this.

"One of us is going back." Dante muttered before standing, the sound of the demon moving towards him echoing around the smoke and tree filled area. The flames licked the air around the two hunters, hiding where the light blue demon was. The older man closed his eyes, listening before catching a whistling sound.

"I will not die without taking the boy with me!" The demon's shriek seemed to follow the sharp purple tentacle that shot through the fire and towards Nero. Dante grabbed his sword before throwing it in the direction of where the tendril came from, running as he threw it.

Nero closed his eyes tightly as he heard the demon's second shriek, expecting a stab of pain through his chest and the coldness of death in his veins. Blood splattered across him but the agony did not come. After a few moments, the blood pouring out of his lips stopped flowing, his wounds healing. Nero felt confused as the horrible ache of approaching death left him. He sat up, his limbs finally finding their strength again. The burning of the Sensus curse seemed to dull, still there but now just a throbbing pain. When he looked at his left wrist, the scythe wings were gone. The Letum was gone, but, why?

Nero felt a sudden need to smile even though he was confused. He was fine and now Dante did not need to worry so damn much about him. The young hunter turned to the elder, felling the need to tell him that the curse and pain was gone now.

Nero's happiness left his face, his eyes widening as he found the source of the blood that sprayed on him before.

Dante was still standing, the sharp tentacle protruding out the back of his chest where his heart was. Blood dripped down the back of his already red coat, joining the crimson pool already below them. In the light of the flames surrounding them, Nero could see a smile on his face.

The damn idiot had planned on one of them going home, but it was not him.

--


	13. Paper Confessions

Disclaimer: Sadly, I do not own any of the devil may cry characters in this fiction, if I did, Kyrie would have died in the first ten minutes of the game and Dante and Nero would be together...and Vergil would be shirtless in the third game...and Arkham would wear a frilly princess dress for my entertainment.

Rated Mature for Violence, Possible Incest, Language, Angst, Hurting Nero, Hot Man Sex in later Chapters, Blood, Gore, and other things I'm still thinking up.

--

Chapter Thirteen: Paper Confessions

For several moments, Nero felt as if his limbs were paralyzed. It seemed that his body had gone into shock when he saw Dante just standing there as if he was fine, besides the tentacle sticking out the other side of his chest. Nero knew he was not alright though. The elder hunter was not laughing, not joking, or even moving.

"D-Dante?" Nero managed to stutter out. He felt a shiver run down his spine when there was no answer. He stood, ignoring the red staining his clothes and hair as he walked a few feet closer to the elder man. "Dante? If you're just acting, cut it out. This isn't funny." He said, trying to keep his voice steady but it refused to obey him.

Nero forced himself to walk around Dante, swallowing the lump forming in his throat. The older hunter's eyes were closed, the smile still gracing his lips as his face seemed paler than usual. The younger man did not know what he felt as he looked over his features. It was as if he suddenly forgot that he had emotion. It all happened too fast.

The flames soon caught the corner of Nero's eye. They were licking against the tentacle, setting the dead demon ablaze and traveling down the purple flesh. The ex-order member grabbed onto the tendril the second he saw the fire moving towards Dante's body. Even if the elder was joking that he was dead, he would not let him get burned for the stupid trick. Nero yanked the sharp appendage from the other hunter's body, dropping it and catching Dante as he fell forward into his arms. His heart ached as he felt Dante's blood collect on his already stained and soaked clothes.

"Heh. After all those times I stabbed a sword through your chest, you choose now to actually let it hurt you." Nero muttered, clutching the red leather coat with his devil bringer. "We should get out of here before the whole damn forest burns down." He made no effort to move from the spot as he held Dante's body tightly to himself. It was only when a branch fell close to them and caught the nearby grass on fire that Nero wrapped the older man's arm around his neck, dragging him out of the flames and towards the main road.

--

"What the hell is going on over there?" Lady said, putting her hands on her hips as she watched the smoke rising over the forest. Trish stood next to her, leaning against Dante's motorcycle that they had found along the road side. "He better have a good reason for calling us out here like this."

"You know Dante." Trish said, smiling at her. Lady smirked.

"Yeah. He just dragged us out here to clean up after his mess. He should know by now that we don't work for free." She sighed, opening her mouth to say something else when red leather caught her eye. "About time, Dante. We were beginning to think a demon finally got...you..." She trailed off as she saw a blood covered Nero holding an unconscious Dante walk to the edge of the road.

"Nero, are you alright?" Trish asked as the two women walked over to help him with Dante. It unnerved both of the female demon slayers when the young man was quiet. They exchanged a look and nodded before Lady moved to get the car Dante requested them to bring.

--

Lady crossed her arms and sighed as she looked back at Nero from the passenger's seat of the car. The young hunter had not said a word or even looked at them since they found him. He did not even raise objection when they left Dante's body behind, purely because Lady said the loss would feel worse if they brought him back to the office. Both of the women thought it did not matter now. Nero had locked himself up and it did not look like he was coming out for a long time.

When Trish pulled up to Devil May Cry, Nero was the first out of the car as he ran up to the office and disappeared inside. The two women followed him but by the time they got through the doors, Nero was no where in sight. Trish and Lady shared a sigh.

"Looks like he's taking this harder than anyone." Trish whispered, not wanting to speak too loudly in case the young man was nearby.

"Yeah, he is. Well, I hate to leave you alone with him like this but I still have to finish a job." Lady turned away from looking around the office for Nero and adjusted Kalina Ann's position on her back. "Think you can handle him?"

"I can take care of him. He'll most likely be in Dante's room most of the night so I don't have much to do. I'll try to get him to eat something before I leave." Trish said as Lady nodded. The devil huntress waved goodbye before exiting the office and driving off. Trish sighed again and crossed her arms before walking up the stairs, determined to make sure the younger hunter was alright.

--

Nero sat on the edge of Dante's bed, his head resting in his devil bringer as he twirled Blue Rose in his left hand. He could not believe it. The elder was practically immortal in the younger man's eyes but a simple stab through the heart managed to kill him. He did remember a rather grim talk he had with Dante once about how he could die. Nero forgot what exactly led to the conversation but he knew that the older man had trusted him with the information.

He stopped twirling his gun on his index finger as he noticed the top drawer of the elder's dresser was open. It was the one that had been full of different types of rotting demon skulls. Nero made a slightly disgusted face as he wondered why it was open. He tried to ignore it but after a few moments, his curiosity won.

Nero stood, leaving his revolver sitting on the bed as he walked over to the dresser. He held his breath without meaning to, remembering that the drawer had smelled sickening the last time he opened it. When he looked inside the first thing he noticed was that the main skull he had seen last time he opened the drawer was missing, the second was a folded up piece of paper that was not there before.

Once again, his curiosity won out. He reached inside the drawer and grabbed the paper, trying his best not to touch anything but the paper. Nero did not need a repeat of what had happened during the past few days.

When he pulled the paper out, he noticed his name written across the front in Dante's somewhat messy handwriting. Nero unfolded it, wondering why the elder would have his name on a random sheet of paper.

_Heh. How did I know you would be browsing through my drawers again?_

_I guess since you found this, I'm not around anymore. Sorry about that, kid. I had to do something in order for you to stay alive. But I didn't write this because I wanted to ramble on about how I had to die for you. Kid, I-_

Nero skipped the several words that had been crossed out or erased until there was a whole in the paper. Dante always did have a problem with putting his thoughts onto writing.

_Ok, ok, ok. Fine. Since I can't find a better word for it or anything and this might be the last chance I get to tell you, I'll just come out with it. Kid, I love you. Or loved you, since I'm you know. Hope you don't kick my corpse in the groin for that, heh. Well, I guess that's it. Bye._

_By the way, I kind of stole your first kiss when you were knocked out a few days ago. Ok, I did steal it. Can you blame me, kid? I've been wanting to do that since you started working with me._

_Dante_

Nero gripped the paper tightly, almost ripping it as he read the last part. The damn idiot just had to make this even harder for him, didn't he? The young hunter wanted Dante to come back for two reasons now. One, so he could make use of that kick in the groin the elder wrote about and two, so he could punch him in the face. Neither of the reasons why he wanted to do these things were bad. The first was because the idiot had to wait until he was dead to tell him about his feelings. The second, because Dante did not kiss him when he was awake.

Nero let out a shaky breath as he fell to his knees, still clinging to the white paper as if it was a lifeline. He really did try to keep it together ever since he first saw Dante standing with the tentacle pierced through the place where the more experienced hunter's heart was. But he just could not, not with what the older man had confessed in the note. Nero held the note to his chest with his human hand as he sunk his claws into the dresser, pressing his forehead to the wood. He closed his eyes tightly, willing the tears not to spill when Trish or Lady could walk into the room at any second. Silent sobs wracked his body even as he heard a subtle knock at the door.

"Nero?" It was Trish's voice. "I'm going to order something to eat. Anything you want?" _Eat? _Nero thought, suddenly pissed. _Why the hell would I eat at a time like this? Who the fuck could?! Don't these fucking women have a heart?! _"Sweetie?"

"Don't call me that!" Nero yelled as he grabbed one of the books from the bottom drawer and threw it hard enough at the door that the binding broke, making the pages fly everywhere. He leaned back against the dresser, hugging his knees and cradling his head in his arms as he sobbed audibly. Nero did not even know if this was the Sensus or not anymore. All he knew was that he was falling apart and he could not stop it.

--


	14. Demon Skulls

Disclaimer: Sadly, I do not own any of the devil may cry characters in this fiction, if I did, Kyrie would have died in the first ten minutes of the game and Dante and Nero would be together...and Vergil would be shirtless in the third game...and Arkham would wear a frilly princess dress for my entertainment.

Rated Mature for Violence, Possible Incest, Language, Angst, Hurting Nero, Hot Man Sex in later Chapters, Blood, Gore, and other things I'm still thinking up.

--

Chapter Fourteen: Demon Skulls

Trish was starting to become really worried about Nero. She had tried several times to ask the young man if he wanted to eat but each time a different bang sounded behind the door. The demonic woman only hoped he was throwing Dante's things at the door and not himself. She sighed as her most recent attempt to get the young man to eat ended in another, very large, bang at the door. Trish left the door for another time that night as she heard the phone ring down in the main office, deciding to answer it instead of making Nero break another item in the bedroom.

"Devil May Cry."

"How is he?" Lady's voice spoke through the phone, sounding a bit worn out from her completed mission. Trish put a hand on her hip and sighed into the receiver.

"Refusing to eat and barricading himself in Dante's room. Every time I try to reason with him, he just throws something at the door." She said, looking up at the door to the elder hunter's bedroom as if expecting Nero to emerge from it at any second.

"Tell him I have a message for him." Trish nodded as she took note of the exact words before saying goodbye and hanging up. She walked back up to the door and knocked again, still receiving no response.

"Lady wanted me to pass along this message. 'You haven't eaten all day. Starving yourself isn't going to bring him back. Now stop acting so childish and come out this instant or I'll shove Kalina Ann's bayonet up your ass when I get back.' She sounded serious in my opinion." The demonic woman waited a moment, wondering if everything was alright since there was no loud bang this time. "Nero?"

"Just go away. Damn it." Trish folded her arms across her chest at the soft sob that came from behind the door. "I'm not coming out." Nero sounded hollow now, not enraged like the other times she knocked on the door.

"Well, if you decide to eat, you will have to get it yourself. I have a mission tomorrow so I need to get up early. The office is all yours until Lady gets here." Trish turned her back to the door and hesitating to leave. "Dante would want you to take care of yourself, Nero. Try to do that." When she did not receive a response, she went down the stairs and gathered her things before leaving.

--

Nero had moved to sit by the door, surrounded by the pages of every book Dante had kept in the bottom drawer. He was curled in on himself, finally able to think a little better when Trish had left. No doubt the Sensus had brought out the anger and hatred he held against himself. It was all he could do to aim it at Trish instead of picking up the revolver sitting on Dante's bed. The thought had entered Nero's head several times but he pushed it aside, knowing it would be stupid to throw away his life when Dante sacrificed himself just so he could live.

Sighing, he buried his face in his arms again. He did not know what to do now that Dante was gone. The note that had been left for him was still in his left hand and the young man had no intentions of letting it go. Nero never expected the elder hunter's death to hit him this hard but it had.

Nero searched for any form of comfort in the room, wondering if Dante had hidden some secret book that contained information on how to bring someone back from the dead or something similar. The young hunter checked through the closet, finding nothing but an old torn red coat like the older man's current one hidden under the other articles of clothing. Nero hesitated before pulling the coat off the hanger carefully. The red leather was slightly worn out and the structure seemed smaller than the one the young man saw Dante wear normally. No doubt the coat had been from when the elder was a bit younger, possibly around Nero's age.

The ex-order member glanced at the door to the room, wondering if it would be bad if he touched the coat. He shrugged softy and walked over to the bed, setting the old coat onto it before taking off his blue denim one. Looking over the coat, Nero stripped off his hoodie and navy under shirt as well. He pulled the red leather on, blushing at the fact that he was now trying on and rummaging through Dante's things. He walked over to the full length mirror and clenched his fists tightly at the fact that despite his devil bringer, he really did look like a younger version of the devil hunter.

"Dante..." Nero sat back on the bed, still wearing the coat as looked into the mirror. A sad smile found it's way onto his lips as he noticed the right sleeve was missing, making it impossible to hid his right arm. He almost wanted to because something had wormed it's way into his mind, telling him that he was closer to Dante like this. "Come back..." Nero leaned back onto the bed about to wrap himself in the sheets when he saw a flash of red reflected in the mirror. He knew it was not the coat he was wearing because it was by the open window. The young hunter turned, his jaw dropping and his eyes widening at seeing the form of Dante sitting rather comfortably on the window sill.

"Say 'please', kid." The older man grinned before standing up and walking a few steps into the room. "I leave for a few hours and you mess up my room. I hope you know that a few of those books were hard to find-"

Dante felt something plow into him and force him to the floor. Before he could form a question, soft lips covered his and a hand threaded through his hair. Dante kissed back before the lips left his, the grin on his face widening.

"I didn't think you would miss me that much, kid. To be honest, I was expecting something more along the lines of-" The elder winced and shut his eyes tightly, groaning as he felt the knee leave his now aching groin. "...that."

"What the hell, Dante?!" Nero yelled at him as he got off him, apparently unaware of the tears running down his face. "How the hell could you pretend to be dead for so damn long?! Do you have any idea what I was going through when you were playing that stupid joke?!"

"Kid." Dante said but Nero ignored him and continued.

"You're lucky the Sensus curse didn't make me fucking shoot myself or anyone else here! And that stupid fucking note! I swear, if you play a sick joke like that again, I'll-!"

"Kid! Nero! Listen to me." Dante yelled, making Nero stop and choke back a sob that threatened to leave his lips. "I wasn't pretending or joking. I really did die and trust me, I don't want to again. Once was enough for me." He rubbed his chest as he stood up.

"But...how? How are you here? Or have I just lost it?" Nero said, sitting down on the edge of the bed and glaring down at the floor. Dante sighed and sat down next to the younger man, grabbing the back of his head and forcing Nero to lean his head on his shoulder. He kept his hand on the young hunter's head, not allowing him to move away.

"You haven't lost it, kid. You know that skull that you kept telling me turned off women? That was the skull of the curse demon that I ran into about a month and a half ago. The one that gave me a blood curse. Well, after I killed it and undid that curse, I thought to keep part of the demon. Thought I needed a new trophy on the wall to brighten the place up a little. But when I went to get it mounted, the guy told me it was from a demon with phoenix in it's background." Dante paused to make sure Nero was listening.

"And? What's so interesting about that?"

"When properly used, it can bring someone back from the dead if they get killed once. Only works once and it's rare so I was saving it for a time when I had to die." Dante put his hand over the ex-order member's mouth so he could not interrupt him. "And no, I wasn't going to give it to you. Sure, it allows you to come back but you actually die too. Hurts like hell. Besides, I honestly didn't know if it was going to work." Nero grabbed onto the elder's hand and moved it away from his mouth.

"So that's why you wrote the note? Just in case it wouldn't work?" He asked, looking up at the older hunter from his forced position. Dante nodded. Nero glared at him and punched him in the stomach. "Bastard! Don't do that!" The other just laughed it off and buried his face in the younger man's snowy hair.

"You know, I'm not forcing you to lean against me anymore." The elder hunter grinned as Nero noticed he was not. He sat up quickly and pushed Dante away, blushing a deep red that nearly screamed cute to the older man. "Heh. Face it, kid. You missed me."

"Did not, old man." Nero shot back at him, choosing to glare at him instead of the floor this time.

"Says the kid wearing my old clothes." Dante chuckled. "If you don't start telling me how you really feel, you're going to be stuck with Sensus forever. Just so you know." Nero snorted at the comment and broke eye contact. He quickly looked for a different subject.

"What did you mean when you said the skull had to be 'properly used'?" He asked, raising an eyebrow as he noticed that Dante wrinkled his nose.

"Let's just say that demons skulls taste really nasty. There's a whole ritual thing you have to do before using it and it doesn't end in a appetizing way. I'm sure as hell not doing it again." Dante said. "It didn't work like I thought it would though. I thought it would bring me back in a few minutes but I guess it needed a bit more time than that. Sorry if I worried you, kid."

"You didn't." Nero lied again, swallowing down his emotions. He hoped that the Sensus would not give him away entirely but he knew it did. Dante smiled at him and wrapped an arm around the younger man's waist, pulling him closer.

"So..." Dante said, his smile turning into a devilish smirk as he pushed the other onto the bed and climbed over him. "We should start on getting rid of that other curse now." Nero blushed and struggled against him lightly, wondering why he suddenly did not mind being this close to the elder. He really did not know why that smirk was making him want to know what Dante had in mind.

--


	15. Uncursing Techniques

Disclaimer: Sadly, I do not own any of the devil may cry characters in this fiction, if I did, Kyrie would have died in the first ten minutes of the game and Dante and Nero would be together...and Vergil would be shirtless in the third game...and Arkham would wear a frilly princess dress for my entertainment.

Rated Mature for Violence, Possible Incest, Language, Angst, Hurting Nero, Graphic Hot Man Sex, Blood, and Gore.

--

Chapter Fifteen: 'Uncursing' Techniques

Dante had to admit that he was glad that Nero had taken off the multiple layers of clothing covering his chest before wearing his old coat. He had easy access to the tempting pale skin of the younger man's chest and stomach. The elder merely straddled Nero's hips, his hands holding loosely onto the young hunter's wrists as he brushed his lips against his. Dante was pausing his advance, not in order to give Nero an escape for he knew the other would leave whether he wanted his or not but in order to think through what to do first. The more experienced devil slayer knew what Nero was hiding now and planned on making the man under him confess before they were interrupted.

"Where are the girls?" Dante growled into Nero's ear softy, reviling in the anticipation the ex-order member's body showed. He saw the younger man swallow as if to will himself to speak.

"They left. Trish said Lady would be back sometime tonight." Nero said, trying his hardest to keep his breathing under control. The elder had not even touched him yet and he was panting.

Dante wanted to growl again. He glanced at the window to see that it was already dusk. Though he was glad the two women were taking care of Nero, he hated the idea of being interrupted 'uncursing' the younger hunter. It would take a lot of explaining if he was found pounding the other man through the bed when he was suppose to be dead.

Dante shushed his demon side as it stirred at the thought of taking Nero. It would not stay quiet though, the scent of dry blood still lingering around the room not helping it remain calm. Apparently, in Nero's depressed state he did not have the time to wash the blood off his skin and clothes. That was not good. Dante wanted to take things slow and tease him to get some answers out of him. That was going to be difficult with his demon side nearly begging him to dominate the other part demon.

"Last chance to tell me what's on your mind before I force you to tell me, kid." Dante breathed into the younger hunter's ear, letting his finger tips run across the pale skin on display to him. Nero stopped the shiver of arousal from running down his spine and informing the elder that he was enjoying the attention.

"I don't know what you're talking about, old man." He said, smirking and not allowing the older man to win so easily. The man over him just smirked back before leaning down and leaving heated kisses down Nero's throat.

"You know, I wore this coat exactly like this." Dante said huskily, leaving a kiss on the young man's throat every other word. "Somehow, I think I like it better on you. I can get you naked faster." He chuckled as he saw Nero glare at him halfheartedly. The glare disappeared quickly when he started to lick across his bare chest, going slow as he let his hands slide to the belt on Nero's jeans.

Dante wanted to punch his demon side as it kept growling inside his head, insisting he move faster and take the ex-order member already. In order to shut it up, he unzipped and unbuttoned Nero's pants before pulling them down to his knees. Brushing his fingers near the other hunter's aching arousal, he moved back to whisper into Nero's ear.

"If you don't know what I'm talking about, then why are you like this, Nero?" Dante practically purred his name, making the younger man shutter and choke back a moan. Nero grabbed onto the sheets of the bed tightly, willing himself not to lose this battle out of pride. Several times he had to bite his lip to stifle a loud moan but he quickly lost control over his voice when Dante ghosted his finger tips along his erection. His head fell back onto the pillow as the elder wrapped his hand around the heated flesh, pumping it slowly a few times.

"Dante..." Nero shut his eyes tightly, trying to remain in control as he felt Dante move back down his body. When he felt a hot tongue run across the tip of his cock, he lost it and moaned loudly. His human hand tangled itself into the older hunter's soft hair, encouraging Dante to take the tip of his arousal into his mouth. The elder's hands held his hips down as he sucked lightly before bobbing down the length, surprising Nero as he took most of his erection into his mouth.

Dante wanted to smirk at how well his plan was working. The stubborn cocky punk under him was quickly loosing himself in pleasure, bucking his hips and letting out delicious moans that made the older man's leather pants tighten uncomfortably. Dante dared not to let his own erection out of the confines just yet, not trusting himself with taking it slow if he did. He decided to move on to the next part of his plan as he moved the fingers of his right hand toward Nero's mouth. The older hunter was surprised when the younger man opened his mouth and sucked on them lightly without being told. Dante rewarded the action by sucking on the other slayer's cock harder and increasing the rate he bobbed his head slightly.

Nero moaned around his fingers before Dante removed them from that tantalizing mouth, placing them at the younger man's tight entrance. The younger man groaned at the unfamiliar feeling as Dante slowly inserted a finger, keeping it still and sucking on the erection in his mouth more to overwhelm the pain with pleasure. After a few moments, he inserted another finger and began moving them slightly. Nero nearly shouted as he found the tight bud of nerves inside him, moaning frantically as Dante kept brushing against it.

"D-Dante...I'm going to-" The younger man gasped in surprise when he felt the elder's mouth leave him and his fingers stop moving. He had been so close and the older hunter had stopped just a second before he could release. "What-?"

"Are you going to tell me yet, kid?" The grin on Dante's face almost begged Nero to hit him. He glared as well as he could at the older man, refusing to swallow his pride. He attempted to move one of his own hands to finish himself off but was quickly stopped by Dante pinning both of his wrists with one hand. With another skillful brush against his prostate, the younger man could barely hold his voice back. Nero was so close and the elder just had to use that to his advantage.

"Fine!" He yelled as Dante licked up his erection once, torturously keeping him close to his completion. "I-I love you too. Alright?!" The elder smirked and leaned away from Nero's bucking hips.

"Prove it." The younger man broke out of the other slayer's hold and nearly ripped the other sleeve off of the leather coat he wore. He shoved his wrist in front of Dante's face, making the older man looked shocked for a moment before he smiled warmly at the unmarked wrist. "Nice proof." Dante muttered before gripping the back of Nero's head and kissing him deeply, moaning as the younger man rubbed his tongue against his. He waited a few moments for the ex-order member to back away from the edge, not wanting to make him finish before the real fun. The man under him pulled away from the kiss first.

"Just don't you dare think you're going to top every time and if you tell Trish or Lady, consider yourself dead again." Nero said, glaring at the man as he undid the buckles on his shirt. Dante chuckled lightly as he pulled his fingers out of the younger hunter and helped him take off his coat and shirt.

"Whatever you say, kid." The elder winked before moving down the young hunter's body again, nipping and licking his nipples as he past them. Nero lifted his hips as Dante pulled his boots and pants off, the older man smirking at how he did not wear any underwear. "Damn, you're sexy. Why didn't I do this earlier?" The older hunter did not give Nero the chance to respond as he moved back up and kissed him roughly, rubbing his clothed erection against the younger man's bare ass. He questioned why he felt cold air against his arousal under he noticed that the man under him had taken the liberty of unzipping his pants for him.

"You heard what you wanted, old man. Now, hurry up." Nero moaned, pressing the tip of Dante's cock against his tight entrance. "And don't call me 'kid' when we're doing this." The elder smirked and pushed his hips forward, sliding himself into the tight heat waiting for him.

"But you look so cute when you're mad." He said, finding it difficult to hold himself back when he was being squeezed so tightly. The younger hunter winced when he entered him, digging his nails into the older man's back while his devil bringer threatened to tear the sheets. Dante stopped once he was fully seated inside Nero, sighing at the pleasure before kissing the young man under him. He distracted himself from his demon side by kissing and waiting for the other to adjust to the new experience. When Nero bucked against his hips in a silent plea to move, Dante slowly pulled out then pushed back in. He tried his best to keep the pace slow but it was difficult with the soft moans coming from the younger man's vocal cords. Increasing the rate of his thrusts, the elder searched for the tight bundle of nerves that had Nero practically yelling his name.

Nero moaned loudly as one of Dante's hands wrapped around his erection, the other hand gripping his hips roughly. He rested his head on the pillow, giving in finally and taking what the more experienced man gave to him. His back arched suddenly when he felt Dante's thick cock find his prostate, the elder's name leaving his lips.

"Dante...Harder, d-damn it." Nero met the trusts as the older man complied. Dante nipped his neck as he thrust harder into the panting and moaning hunter under him. The fight against triggering and going faster into the younger man was slowly being lost as Dante's pace increased again. He pumped Nero's cock to his thrusts, already drawing out a mantra of his name from the tempting lips of his lover. The elder tried to slow his pace but he could not, not with the mind numbing pleasure flooding his system.

"Kid, I'm going to...lose it." Dante whispered in his ear, enjoying the moans coming from his younger lover.

"Go...a-ahead." Nero said, barely able to comprehend what the other man meant. Dante let go of his control and triggered, making the ex-order member gasp as the trusts inside him reached an almost animalistic pace. His devil bringer sunk into the red demon's flesh, trying to find some way to stop the burning beneath his navel from reaching it's peak. It was not helping that Dante kept hitting the spot inside him that made him see stars. The older man grabbed his legs and pushed his knees to his shoulders, making it so his arousal penetrated Nero deeper. "Dante! I-I'm..." He moaned as he heard the elder growl in his ear before moving his head back down and licking his neck. The thrusts lost any form of rhythm the had as the triggered hunter came close to his own release.

Nero screamed Dante's name, the burning in his lower stomach becoming too intense for him as the older man abused his body with pleasure he had never thought possible. His cum spilled across his chest and the other hunter's clawed hand, the completion almost knocking Nero unconscious. The muscles surrounding Dante's erection tightened farther, forcing another loud growl from his throat. The younger man felt sharp teeth sink into his pulse before a hot liquid entered him. Dante continued his slowing thrusts as he rode out his orgasm, filling Nero until his cum dripped down onto the satin sheets. He detriggered after, exhausted from both his demon side and taking the young slayer under him.

"You alright?" Dante asked once he was able to catch his breath. The ex-order member nodded, leaning his head back on the pillow. The older man smiled before kissing him softly. "I love you, kid." Nero wrapped his arms around the elder's neck.

"Love you too, old man."

Both of the hunters nearly jumped off the bed when they heard the door to the room open. They turned to see Lady standing there, a slightly shocked expression on her face at seeing Dante in only his leather pants and Nero wearing only the other hunter's old red coat. She shook it off and sighed, putting the hand that was not holding Kalina Ann on her hip.

"Here I came with Kalina Ann to punish you for mopping around so much but it appears that Dante beat me to your ass. Oh well..." Lady grabbed the door knob to the room as she looked at Dante. "I'll be down stairs when you're ready to explain all this. Have fun!" She closed the door, leaving a blushing Nero and grinning Dante behind. He turned to the man still under him.

"Hey, I didn't tell her."

--

The End

Worry not! I already have another idea for the next DantexNero yaoi. ^-^


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